Philippines Warns of Smaller Scam Hubs After POGO Ban as Trafficking Cases Continue

October raids expose the persistence of scam operations

A raid on suspected scam hubs in Alicia and Siay, Zamboanga Sibugay, on October 2, 2026, has led to criminal cases against nine people, showing how trafficking and online fraud operations continue in the Philippines two years after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered offshore gaming operators shut down.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said 259 people were rounded up and 53 alleged trafficking victims were rescued. The Bureau of Immigration counted 244 foreign nationals arrested at two sites, while Justice Department comments described more than 230 workers rescued in the early October operation. These figures cover different categories of people; authorities have not published a breakdown reconciling the totals and victim assessments.

Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty, who oversees the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), warned at an October 22 briefing that scam hubs could be making a resurgence. Recent operations, he said, were generally smaller than the large compounds dismantled in previous years, with some occupying just one room.

The concern now extends beyond former gaming complexes. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said authorities were tracking three suspected scam hubs in Metro Manila, while recent enforcement operations have also reached Quezon City and Makati City.

For people trapped inside these operations, the change in size leaves the central danger intact: being forced to work on online scams. Investigators are pursuing suspected organisers while identifying workers who may need protection, assistance and a way home.

What investigators found in Zamboanga Sibugay

The October 2 operation targeted two locations on Mindanao, the southern Philippine island. According to the Bureau of Immigration, one site held 110 Chinese citizens, two Cambodians and one Hong Kong resident. The second held 131 foreign nationals, mostly Chinese, along with citizens of Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar.

Authorities seized computer equipment, mobile phones, laptops and SIM cards. Investigators are examining suspected online scams, forced labour and human trafficking at the sites. Such equipment allows many accounts and communications to be managed from a single location.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag said criminal cases against nine individuals included qualified trafficking in persons under Republic Act 9208, as amended by Republic Act 10364. Cases also included alleged violations of the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act after weapons were recovered. Qualified trafficking is a more serious category of trafficking offence under Philippine law.

Matibag also announced that local officials would be asked to provide information as investigators build the cases:

"We will also be issuing subpoenas to local government officials of Alicia and nearby areas for case build-up," Matibag said.

A subpoena formally requires someone to provide testimony or records. The NBI is seeking information about the operations and whether other people were involved. The nine individuals face criminal allegations, with guilt to be determined through the legal process.

From large compounds to rented houses

Bamban in Tarlac, Porac in Pampanga and Pasay City were among the places where authorities previously dismantled large POGO compounds. Ty described earlier facilities occupying entire buildings, including Pasay compounds that functioned as enclosed communities where victims were allegedly exploited.

Recent discoveries look different. Ty described some as small family business style operations, including establishments using a single room. Other suspected hubs reportedly occupy rented houses accommodating between 10 and 20 people.

Remulla, the interior secretary responsible for the department overseeing the national police, described the change in physical scale:

"Before, the industry had 5,000 people in one building. Now, they rent small houses and we are after them," he said.

His comparison illustrates the change investigators face: finding a house with a few dozen occupants requires a different search from locating a compound housing thousands. Remulla described the current operations as localised and less widespread than the former large facilities.

Police change how they search for hubs

Philippine National Police chief General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said police were shifting from broad raids toward operations guided by intelligence. The methods include monitoring online activity, unusually heavy internet use and information gathered within communities.

Remulla said authorities were also examining electricity and broadband consumption and the movements of suspicious individuals. The exact locations of the three suspected Metro Manila hubs were still being determined when he discussed the searches.

These methods are intended to help investigators locate operations hidden among ordinary homes and businesses. A large compound can have visible security, accommodation and transport arrangements. A rented house with 10 to 20 occupants gives investigators fewer obvious physical features to follow.

The police chief said cooperation with other enforcement agencies would continue as operators tried to rebuild despite the national ban. The shift puts more weight on gathering information before a raid, including identifying the people running a site and the workers who may be under their control.

Claims of protection by dismissed personnel

Remulla said scam groups relied on Filipino partners and were using dismissed police and military personnel as henchmen. He raised the issue while discussing transnational crime at the 20th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime in Makati City.

The interior secretary described the suspected local support behind the operations:

"You cannot operate here without having a Filipino partner. Our problem is that as we track, the henchmen that they use are dismissed policemen and dismissed military men," Remulla said.

Remulla did not name the former personnel or describe their individual roles. Nartatez said active or dismissed police personnel found enabling or protecting scam operations would face criminal prosecution.

The allegations add another task to the investigations. Authorities are examining both what happened inside suspected hubs and who may have helped them obtain premises, operate locally or avoid enforcement. The NBI's planned questioning of local officials in Zamboanga Sibugay is part of its continuing effort to establish the circumstances around those sites.

Workers may also be trafficking victims

Ty said many foreign nationals found in scam hubs were themselves victims of human trafficking. Trafficking can involve recruiting or moving people through deception, threats or coercion so that someone else can exploit their work. In scam operations, that exploitation can mean forcing a person to deceive victims online.

A raid therefore creates several different responsibilities. Investigators must identify suspected organisers, examine possible offences and assess whether workers were forced to participate. IACAT and other agencies can coordinate operations and refer rescued people to the Department of Social Welfare and Development for assistance.

The Bureau of Immigration handles immigration matters, including repatriation or deportation where appropriate. Authorities said they were investigating possible trafficking offences involving some people apprehended in the Mindanao raids, while others would be deported.

Immigration Commissioner Joel Viado set out the bureau's enforcement position in a statement:

"We will continue to enforce our immigration laws against foreign nationals who violate the conditions of their stay and ensure that the Philippines is not used as a base for illegal activities," Viado said.

For rescued workers, the immediate process can involve establishing identity, assessing protection needs and arranging assistance. For investigators, accounts from those workers may help explain how recruitment, confinement and control operated inside a hub.

Chinese entry arrangements come under review

Chinese nationals make up most of the people found in recent hubs, according to Ty. Earlier rescues included Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Myanmar and Nepalese nationals, as well as people from African countries.

The DOJ is examining how the foreign nationals entered the Philippines and whether they remained beyond their permitted stay. Ty said some people found in hubs had used an arrangement allowing entry without a visa, while some had overstayed.

The department was still consolidating counts for those categories and comparing them with legitimate tourist arrivals. Ty said authorities were considering several possible reasons for the current nationality mix as they gathered that information.

IACAT and the DOJ had not issued a recommendation on the entry arrangement for Chinese tourists. Palace Press Officer Claire Castro referred the matter to the Department of Foreign Affairs. The immediate policy question is whether the government's review will lead to changes in entry rules or enforcement.

How the ban developed

Marcos ordered all Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, or POGOs, shut down in July 2024. These businesses provided gambling services to customers outside the Philippines. The president cited crimes associated with the industry, including kidnapping, murder, trafficking, financial scams, money laundering and prostitution.

The government subsequently moved from a shutdown order to a statutory ban. The main steps were:

• July 2024: Marcos ordered all POGO operations closed.
• Following the order: The Bureau of Immigration gave affected foreign POGO and Internet Gaming Licensee workers 60 days to leave and stopped accepting new or pending visa applications for those workers.
• October 23, 2025: Marcos signed the Anti-POGO Act of 2025, placing the offshore gaming ban into law.
• October 2, 2026: Authorities raided suspected scam operations in Alicia and Siay, Zamboanga Sibugay.
• October 22, 2026: Ty discussed the possible resurgence of smaller scam hubs and the continuing review of immigration data.

The Anti-POGO Act criminalised activities including managing prohibited hubs, offering gaming services and allowing properties to be used for banned operations. That extends legal exposure beyond the people directly operating the computers to those managing or providing space for prohibited businesses.

The government has also strengthened enforcement arrangements and efforts to recover assets linked to illegal offshore gaming. Recent cases show how several areas of law can apply at once: the gaming ban, trafficking offences, immigration violations and firearms offences each address different conduct.

A regional problem with victims on both sides of borders

Filipinos have been rescued from scam hubs in Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, Ty said. Foreign nationals are found in Philippine operations, while Philippine citizens can be recruited and exploited overseas. Rescue and investigation can therefore require action by more than one government.

Ty stressed cooperation with foreign counterparts because recruitment, travel and exploitation may occur in different countries. Philippine agencies may need help locating citizens abroad, while foreign governments may need to assist with identifying and returning their nationals found in Philippine hubs.

A United Nations report published in 2023 estimated that at least 120,000 people in Myanmar and about 100,000 in Cambodia might be trapped in scam operations. Together, those estimates amounted to roughly 220,000 people across the two countries, illustrating the regional scale of forced participation in online fraud at that time.

The issue was also discussed at the ASEAN ministerial meeting in Makati, where member states considered threats from criminal networks operating across borders. Remulla said similar scam operations were appearing elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Ty welcomed the Philippines' retention of Tier 1 status in the United States State Department's 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report, its 11th consecutive year at that level. The ranking assesses government action against trafficking and compliance with minimum standards. Rescue work, investigations and prosecutions remain continuing responsibilities for Philippine agencies.

Key Points

• The DOJ warned of a possible resurgence of scam hubs, generally smaller than the compounds dismantled before the POGO ban.
• The NBI filed criminal cases against nine people following the October 2, 2026, operation in Zamboanga Sibugay.
• The NBI identified 53 alleged trafficking victims among 259 people rounded up; immigration authorities counted 244 foreign nationals at two sites.
• Authorities were tracking three suspected hubs in Metro Manila and using intelligence, internet activity and community information to locate smaller operations.
• The DOJ was still gathering entry and overstay data before recommending changes concerning Chinese tourists.
• The Anti-POGO Act became law on October 23, 2025, while trafficking investigations and cooperation with neighbouring countries continue.