The POGO story as a political story

AMONG THE most prominent stories of the year, the illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) showed up the weakness of the government’s capacity to enforce the law and to protect national security. It is not at all that surprising, as the news narrative revealed the involvement of government officials and various agencies in allowing an illegal enterprise to prosper. In that sense, the POGO enterprise in the country involves politics in large measure.

The case of Alice Guo projected the ease with which the POGO industry established itself in the country. A foreign national who was elected in 2022 as mayor of Bamban in Tarlac province proceeded to use her position to establish a major POGO hub in her jurisdiction. The extraordinary tale suggested the need for another level of inquiry into a possible master plan on the part of a foreign country to gain control of political power in the Philippines. But the media did not explore this theme, keeping close to the unfolding of events from day to day.

As such, there was much to tell. And the media may not have picked up on all the leads. As the Senate did conduct lengthy hearings on Guo’s case, national officials expressed concerns over national security. The media duly reported what was revealed, especially as the investigation revealed the POGOs’ involvement in syndicated crime, cyberscamming, kidnapping, sex and human trafficking, among others.

Securing persons of interest and criminal suspects

At the height of the Senate investigation in July 2024, Guo disappeared and was discovered to have fled the country despite multiple complaints and government orders filed against her. In December, Harry Roque, who had served as presidential spokesperson of then President Duterte and was tagged in the POGO business, had also left the country; his escape was revealed only when he called in on the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi to swear in his counter-affidavit related to a qualified human trafficking complaint.

Both Guo and Roque were listed in the Bureau of Immigration’s lookout bulletin. Only a few media reports noted that this listing does not actually prevent persons from leaving the country.

CMFR cited and cheered reports that noted the government’s failure to take the necessary precautionary actions to prevent the escape of Roque and Guo, given the prominence of their cases.

Continuing investigation

The Senate concluded its eight-month investigation into illegal POGOs on November 26. On the same day, Senator Risa Hontiveros, in an online post, revealed a matrix of people allegedly involved in the POGO. The matrix included former President Rodrigo Duterte, who defended POGOs during his administration, and numerous Chinese personalities. Media did not point out that it was during Duterte’s term of office that the POGO industry became the huge presence involving criminality and threats to national security.

Meanwhile, the House consolidated four different committees into one Quad to investigate various syndicated crimes in the country, a probe that will resume in 2025.

On the whole, the media have blown hot and cold on the story. CMFR pointed to cases when media did not work more to identify personalities who were linked to POGOs by other officials or in the course of hearings.

In June 2024, Alejandro Tengco, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation chair, said a former Cabinet member “lobbied” for illegal POGOs, but news reports merely quoted the official, with no attempt to verify through other means the identity of the person. Also in September, Guo named the “crucial personality” in a Senate executive session, but media failed to press the committee to divulge the information or to investigate on their own to ascertain the identity by other means, leaving the public in the dark.

The truth about POGO in the PH

Criminality in the Philippines can thrive only with a measure of official collaboration, involving law enforcement to begin with and, in bigger endeavors, civilian agencies and offices as well. The POGO experience quite possibly provides one of the largest efforts at syndicated criminality in history.

Rodrigo Duterte’s term of office is recent enough for Filipinos to recall that he opened the country to these operations, claiming it would provide jobs and employment. But there were no job opportunities made available to Filipinos who could have been trained to take on these jobs. Unfortunately, there was minimal expression of protest against the entry of so many foreign nationals working in Metro Manila and other cities, even their obvious flouting of the country’s regulations in their activities.  News as such did not present Duterte’s pivot to China as a surrender of national sovereignty to a foreign power.

The media clearly played a key role in tracking the story, reporting on incidents of POGO workers involved in crimes and misdemeanors. Alice Guo fixed the media’s attention on the narrative but this has not initiated any inquiry into the role of Rodrigo Duterte. Revelations of syndicated crime in POGO hubs call have not involved the accountability for more official investigation. So far, there has been little said about Duterte’s accountability for the evils that POGO introduced. 

Will Congress fulfill the resolve indicated by the formation of the Quad Committee? Who knows what 2025 will bring?

But the media’s role is clear. It should keep this story alive. Reporters should be doing their research and gathering as much knowledge on their own about the collaboration that made it possible for this big business to involve big and small government.