At least 17 Chinese nationals who were among the more than 300 foreigners arrested for illegally working for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country were deported by the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
The group boarded a Philippine Airlines flight to Wuhan, China. They were the third batch of POGO employees sent back home by the government.
It can be recalled that in October, the BI initially deported six Chinese nationals, while 21 others were deported last November 2.
The latest mass deportation formed part of more than 300 foreign nationals, mostly Chinese citizens, set to be deported by the BI after being arrested by local law enforcement agencies for involvement in illegal online gambling in the Philippines.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla was closely monitoring the implementation of the deportations.
He added that they are regularly submitting reports on the status of the rest of the deportees to the DOJ.
Those deported were automatically included in the BI’s blacklist, effectively barring them from returning to the Philippines.
