Senator Win Gatchalian urged the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to enforce more stringent deportation protocols for former workers in the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) industry, which was outlawed at the beginning of this year.

For instance, Gatchalian said that POGO workers should not be allowed to take a lay-over flight as this enables some of them to evade accountability in their respective country of origin and could possibly go back to their criminal activities. 

“It doesn’t make sense na nahuhuli natin itong mga kawatan na ito, ide-deport natin, tapos hahayaan lang natin silang makawala sa transit flight hanggang bumalik na sila uli dito sa Pilipinas at bumalik sa dating gawi,” Gatchalian said at a recent Senate hearing. 

“My suggestion is for the Bureau of Immigration to change its policy and just bring the deportees back to their country of origin para doon sila litisin,” he added, to which Immigration Chief Joel Viado replied with a commitment to prevent their re-entry into the Philippines especially if they are already on the blacklist.

The senator further noted that many POGO deportees have the connection and the means to evade authorities if they want to. 

“I have received information that around March 7, about 21 deportees were supposed to be transported back to China but were instead diverted to Kuala Lumpur and eventually went to Cambodia,” he said.