By Tracy Cabrera

As a result of the uncovering of the illegal operations of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) hub in Tourist Garden Hotel in Barangay Agus in Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu, the National Burau of Investigation is planning to invite the hotel’s to shed light on the continued operations of the POGO hub despite the directive of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. to close all POGOs in the country.

According to NBI Cebu District Office (NBI-CebDO), Tourist Garden Hotel’s owner will be summoned by to confirm his ownership and to also clarify details of the contract of lease between him and the alleged owner of the POGO hub, Zhao Shou Qi, who is reportedly a Chinese national.

The lease contract was found when they opened the seven vaults inside the office of Zhao which is located in the 1.6-hectare hotel compound and had been leased since 2018 until 2048 with an annual rent of ₱6 million and a rental bond of ₱30 million.

“Based sa aming preliminary reading sa contract of lease, nakalagay dito na the property should not be used for illegal purposes. So, if the lessee will use it for illegal purpose, automatic ma-end ang contract and at the same time ang bond some—sort of security guarantee—will be forfeited in favor of the lessor,” NBI-CebDO lead agent Arnel Pura disclosed.

Pura added that there was no indication that the owner was frequenting the premises in the course of the operation of POGO.

Pura also explained that the owner would be called to clarify things and in order for the NBI to secure an affidavit from him.

Based on the timeline of the lease, only the hotel building at first housed the POGO facility inside the compound but Zhao later constructed additional facilities such as another building to house restaurants and KTV among others.

Aside from the lease documents, NBI-CebDO personnel were also able find ₱400,000 cash which will be added to the ₱8.2 million cash confiscated during the rescue operation to bolster the criminal charges and pending anti-money laundering case against 17 individuals linked to POGO activities, including Zhao Shou Qi and his son Zhao Long.