Philippines authorities dismiss trafficking charges against POGO
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has dismissed charges against MOA Cloudzone Corp and two other companies.
The Philippines.- The Department of Justice (DOJ) has cleared a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) of human trafficking charges brought by the Philippine National Police-Women and Children Protection Center (PNP-WCPC) in September.
The PNP-WCPC claimed that MOA Cloudzone Corp (MCZ) and two other companies had recruited employees against their will and forced them to work. However, state prosecutors said that only one individual, Christine Chue Ni Quian, had recruited the workers.
The DOJ said it was not possible to substantiate PNP’s claim that the workers were employees of MCZ and two other companies, Eastern Group Corporation and Shuangma Corporation. It said there was no evidence of any conspiracy nor of explicit consent to commit a crime.
Prosecutors ordered criminal charges against the named individual for syndicated trafficking and dismissed charges against the companies themselves.
Last October, deputy attorney general Jose Dominic Clavano reported that Philippine authorities had closed 214 illegal Chinese offshore gambling operations. The Chinese government announced that it would intensify its cooperation with the Philippines to tackle crimes related to POGOs.
Philippine senator insists banning POGOs won’t affect economy
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has again called for Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) to be banned. The senator says he is working on a detailed report on the outlook of online gaming in The Philippines and that a ban on POGOs won’t affect the economy.
Gatchalian said that POGOs contribute PHP35bn annually in income taxes but that in the third quarter of 2022, the collection was only PHP7.2bn, projected to reach about PHP8.5bn in December. Last October, Gatchalian said the impact of a ban could be mitigated by attracting BPO companies, which could take up office space left by gaming operators.
