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CEBU CITY — Cebu City remains free of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) activities, Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia said on Monday, following the arrest of 17 Taiwanese allegedly involved in an online fraud.
"Ever since I stepped in (as mayor), we have already declared Cebu City POGO-free. In fact, it's true that we are POGO-free," Garcia said during a press conference on Monday.
"We have not received reports of POGO activity here. There may have been rumors, but this case is not related to POGO. This is fraud," he added.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), with assistance from the Taiwan Police Attaché, apprehended the suspects on May 15 in a raid at Maria Luisa Estate Park.
The operation stemmed from the surveillance report on a Taiwanese citizen with an outstanding arrest warrant who traveled from Manila to Cebu.
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NBI Cybercrime Division executive officer Van Angluban said the operation initially aimed to apprehend three individuals with outstanding warrants of arrest in Taiwan but ultimately led to the arrest of 17 suspects.
He noted that the operation also uncovered three additional individuals with warrants of arrest in Taiwan.
Angluban clarified that although the suspects operated in a setup that appeared POGO-like, their primary activity involved money scams.
He identified six of the arrested individuals as members of the "Four Seas Gang," an organized criminal syndicate based in Taiwan, which he said operates in the Philippines and targets Malaysian and Chinese citizens through online fraud schemes.
Garcia added that the case does not involve offshore gaming.
"This is a new type of (financial) scam, and while it is criminal in nature, it is not categorized as POGO. Nonetheless, it must still be addressed by authorities," he said.
NBI agents seized computers allegedly used to run a "romance scam" in which suspects used scripts to lure victims by pretending to be romantic partners online.
The NBI said victims were mostly from Taiwan, including senior citizens, youth and professionals.
Taiwan Police attaché Matt Shen said the scam operations contributed to significant financial losses in Taiwan.
He expressed gratitude for the coordination and assistance of the NBI, noting that Taiwan suffers losses of approximately P1.7 billion each week due to scam activities.
The 17 arrested Taiwanese may face charges under RA 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, as well as RA 12010, the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act.
