PH Chinese Embassy Offers Support to Resolve POGO-Related Challenges

The Chinese Embassy in Manila extended its assistance to the Philippines in addressing issues brought up by the offshore gaming industry

This statement was released in response to the detention of many Chinese nationals who were later linked to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) and found in possession of powerful weapons and attempted bribery.

According to the embassy, it works with Philippine law enforcement on offenses linked to POGOs and assists the Philippine government in resolving the core problems with the offshore gambling industry.

They added that gambling of any kind is illegal in China, and it opposes Chinese nationals engaging in such activities abroad. It restated the Chinese government’s long-standing advice to its citizens living overseas to abide by local laws and ordinances.

The embassy highlighted the harm that offshore gaming does to society and labeled Chinese nationals as victims of it.

In a different occurrence on April 14, Chinese citizen Haiqiang Su was found in Barangay Bambang, Taguig City, with powerful firearms, ammunition, and other prohibited items. Two more Chinese individuals found at the location were taken into custody pending more inquiries. When another Chinese national attempted to buy police release from earlier arrests, they were apprehended.

Chinese nationals made up 76 of the 401 foreigners who were stopped from entering the Philippines between March and the beginning of April, according to the Bureau of Immigration (BI). With 254 exclusions, Vietnamese nationals were at the top of the list. Information suggesting that many of these foreigners were participating in illegal online gambling businesses in the country was the reason given for the rise in exclusions.

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that people with dubious papers and trends of previous arrests were used to identify potential offenders. Those who are denied entry due to a potential public charge are put to the BI’s blacklist, which prevents them from being admitted again, and those who are excluded are flown back to their home country on the next available aircraft.

Original story by: Philippine News Agency