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February 6, 2025 | 9:18pm
Foreign POGO workers lined up at the Immigration counter at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in a February 2025 handout image.
Bureau of Immigration / Released
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration has deported 57 foreign nationals who were part of the 450 individuals arrested last month following the crackdown on illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
In a statement on Thursday, February 6, the bureau confirmed that these foreign nationals were sent back through flights at Ninoy Aquino International Airport from January 31 to February 5.
The deported individuals were among those arrested in January for various violations, many of which were related to illegal POGO operations.
The crackdown specifically targets foreign nationals linked to illegal POGOs, which have been implicated in human trafficking, cyber fraud, and other criminal enterprises.
Immigration Commissioner Joel Viado said that those who abuse the country's hospitality to run illicit operations will not be spared.
"We will not allow foreign nationals to abuse our immigration system. Those who break our laws and insist on continuing illegal POGO activities in the Philippines will be arrested and swiftly deported," Viado said.
These deportations are part of the government’s crackdown on illegal POGOs whose licenses were officially revoked on Dec. 15, 2024.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. first announced the ban on POGOs during his third State of the Nation Address in July last year.
In response, government agencies such as the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, the Department of Justice, and the Bureau of Immigration implemented measures to downgrade the visas of foreign POGO workers.
The operations against POGOs and its workers started on Oct. 15, 2024.
More than 21,000 foreign POGO workers have applied for visa downgrades, following the government’s campaign against the foreign gaming operators, according to the immigration bureau.
