The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) described the Philippine offshore gaming operator hubs in Bamban, Tarlac and Porac, Pampanga as the biggest it has dismantled, and its spokesperson said commission members and secretariat staff were receiving death threats over the cases1.
PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio told the Senate in June that the threats were unusual for the commission. "This is the first time that members of the commission and the secretariat are getting death threats that are nerve-wracking and chilling, because these are not ordinary money launderers," Casio said1. In an earlier hearing he described the Bamban and Porac masterminds as "no ordinary criminals"1.
The two sites are the subject of separate investigations. The Porac operation, Lucky South 99, was raided after authorities found evidence of what the report describes as massive scamming, trafficking and torture1. The Bamban site, Hong Sheng/Zun Yuan, rented its space from the leasing company Baofu, incorporated by the dismissed mayor of Bamban, Alice Guo1.
Katherine Cassandra Li Ong, 24, has been identified as the point person of both the leasing company Whirlwind, incorporated in Porac in 2019, and Lucky South 991. She is not an incorporator of either company but is known to the staff of both, and often acted as translator for Whirlwind's Chinese incorporator, Duanren Wu, according to Stephanie Mascareñas, an incorporator of both Whirlwind and Lucky South 991. When Lucky South 99's remittances to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) went unpaid and the company sought a new gaming license, it was Ong who spoke to Pagcor, the report says1.
Ong has been charged with disobedience to authority and obstruction of justice, both bailable offenses1. She was arrested in Indonesia alongside Shiela Guo, the sister of Alice Guo1. Ong has confirmed she is the girlfriend of another Guo sibling, Wesley Guo, but denied being close to Alice Guo1. Senator Risa Hontiveros said in a Senate hearing presentation that Ong joined Alice Guo in a motorcade in January during the Bamban festival1.
| Site | Location | Operator or lessor named |
|---|---|---|
| Bamban hub | Bamban, Tarlac | Hong Sheng/Zun Yuan; space leased from Baofu |
| Porac hub | Porac, Pampanga | Lucky South 99; leasing company Whirlwind |
What it means for players
The Philippines has a regulated gambling market, and offshore gaming operators licensed by Pagcor are a separate segment from land-based casinos and other licensed gambling. The investigations described here concern POGO operations and the leasing companies behind them, not the licensing status of every operator in the country. Players who want to check whether a particular operator holds a Philippine license can do so through the regulator's published lists; the Philippines' ban on offshore gaming (POGOs) and the wider guide to gambling regulators and licenses in Asia set out who licenses what and how to verify it. For general questions about gambling in the country, see Can I gamble in the Philippines?.
What happens next
The House quad committee inquiry into the POGOs was ongoing as of the August 28 hearing, and Ong was to remain in House custody until the inquiry ends, whenever that may be1. Ong's lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, has threatened to sue the Department of Justice for arresting Ong in Indonesia without a warrant1. No further scheduled hearings or court dates are given in the report1.
