‘Scam hubs hiding under POGOs’

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

SENATOR Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday blasted the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) for failing to monitor companies operating under its authority that commit crimes such as human trafficking and online scams.

“What is Pagcor doing?” Hontiveros said in yesterday’s hearing of her Senate committee on women. “Pagcor, as the regulator of POGOs (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators), should be actively looking into companies that they allow to operate in the country.”

She referred to a May 4 police raid on Sunvalley Clark Hub Corp. (SVCHC) in Clark, Pampanga, where more than 1,000 nationals from the Philippines,

Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Nepal, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Taiwan, were allegedly forced to work on online scams.

Some 12 people were arrested in the raid, and the government is now repatriating the victims of human trafficking that were being forced to work there.

SVCHC has denied involvement in the illegal operations, saying it is a licensed locator inside the Clark Special

Economic Zone.

“SVCHC, as a real estate company, is not in any way connected or involved in operating online gaming or call center services,” it said.

SVCHC noted that the Colorful and Leap Group identified by authorities as the “love scam” operator, is one of the sub-lessees of CGC Technologies, Inc. whose lease agreement with SVCHC is duly registered with Clark Development Corp.

Sunvalley said they have no knowledge of what’s going on inside the leased premises since they have no access to them. CGC Technologies, Inc. said the company merely subleased its offices to Colorful and Leap Group, which originally presented itself as a gaming ser- vice provider.

Hontiveros has been pushing to ban POGO in the country.

The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking confirmed during the Senate hearing that scam hubs do hide under a legal cover.

“It is appalling that this fraudulent cryptocurrency corporation, which has trafficked thousands of foreign nationals into the country to work as scammers, has been operating under a legal POGO,” Hontiveros said.

“The scam office, led by Chinese bosses, operates like a huge call center, with rows and rows of computer tables. This was where the victimsurvivors would set up their fake accounts using different