The City Council of Panabo City has passed a resolution urging lawmakers to launch an investigation into the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) operation in the city.

Vice Mayor Gregorio Dujali sponsored the resolution after a POGO hub was discovered in Barangay Manay on December 6, 2024.

During the operation, up to 59 alleged POGO workers were arrested, including 55 Chinese, three Malaysians, and a Filipino.

The vice mayor also sounded the alarm bells over the possible involvement of some government officials in the POGO operation.

The National Bureau of Investigation-Davao (NBI-11) earlier said that some government officials may have been protecting the POGO operation.

“Atong gikondena ang existence sa pogo operation sa atong syudad miduso tag resolusuon address ngadto sa liderato sa kamara nga diin imbestigahan ang operation gibawal na ang POGO operation,” Dujali said.

Mayor Jose Relampagos said the owner of the property had previously paid a courtesy call and told him that a Chinese company is renting his property to operate a warehouse for plastics.

“Wala koy pagsupak sa pagdakop ana kay ngano ang pananghid sa ako manguha mog license para maplastar inyong negosyo ang ilang pananghid sa akoa is warehouse,” Relampagos said.

Authorities said the POGO hub has been operating for nearly four months.

Meanwhile, NBI-11 has already filed charges against the 59 people arrested.

“We filed syndicated estafa, illegal gambling. Most of these cases are in relation to cybercrime. Most of this pogo, meron yang kasaling scam, nang-i-iscam sila not to our citizens but to other countries like China,” NBI-11 Director, Atty. Arcelito Albao, said.

NBI-11 is also waiting for the court to grant the search warrant that it has requested to seize the pieces of evidence at the POGO hub.

“Ang purpose natin don ay makuha yung computers, ma-search natin yung kung what’s inside. Definitely, kung anong mga laman non, yun yung gagamitin natin as additional evidence doon sa kasong ating na-i-file,” Albao added.