PASAY CITY: An anti-human trafficking task force raided a Philippine Overseas Gaming Operation (POGO) firm in Pasay City over the weekend, rescuing 731 workers and discovering evidence pointing to a variety of illegal activities, including human trafficking.
According to a new release by Philippines News Agency, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the Department of Justice, the task force uncovered a self-contained six-story building on Williams Street complete with various facilities, including a nine-room KTV area, a pharmacy with a physician and two patient beds, a restaurant, and a hotpot "shabu-shabu" area. Nine money vaults were also discovered on the premises. "Given the abundance of evidence pointing to sex trafficking on said site, an onsite inquest hearing will be done for the filing of criminal charges," the PAOCC said.
Two male Chinese workers, Shui Niu, 27, and Lu Hao Yu, 22, approached government agents during the raid. They claimed they were being held against their will and displayed marks of torture on their bodies. Shui Niu reported he had been kidnapped and sold for PHP500,000 from another POGO operation five months ago, while Lu Hao Yu stated he had been detained for over a year and was made to work 15-hour days.
The raid also led to the rescue of an additional 731 workers, including seven Filipinas, from an aquarium-style viewing chamber of a massage parlor on the building's second floor. The PAOCC will recommend revoking Smart Web Technology Corp.'s temporary Internet Gaming License (IGL) for facilitating human trafficking. "The building, as well as other assets owned by the aforementioned IGL, will be referred for freezing and may be confiscated as illegal gains," stated the PAOCC.
The operation was executed following the issuance of a search warrant by Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 35 Judge Maricris Pahate-Felix against individuals identified only as "Caic" and "Tein." Smart Web Technology Corp. was revealed to be operating under a new business name and PAGCOR IGL after its license had previously been revoked by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR). PAOCC noted that PAGCOR personnel had earlier failed to inspect the area after the compound's guards refused their entry.