AYALA, Makati City — President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. was dead serious in ordering the ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country but apparently, some of them have take the orders lightly as there are those who are still operating in the guise of legitimate businesses like the one recently raided by the authorities in Makati City.

Who would have thought that such an establishment had been operating under the noses of the city's local officials in one of the buildings of the RCBC (Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation) Plaza at the corner of Ayala and Senator Gil Puyat avenues?

Moreover, the POGO hub appears to have avoided detection since it was housed in the very same building complex where the embassies of South Africa, Canada and Australia are located, thus showing the semblance that it was legally operating as a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm.

Situated right in the heart of Makati’s financial district—where skyscrapers house many multinational firms and government officed—authorities found the illegal POGO hub in hiding.

Police authorities raided the POGO hub on the 21st floor of the Yuchengco Tower in the RCBC Plaza on Wednesday, March 19. The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) apprehended around 200 individuals of various nationalities, including Filipinos, Chinese, Japanese, Malaysians, Taiwanese, Brazilians and Hong Kong nationals.

The authorities were not aware of the POGO's operation within the building and were initially serving a warrant issued by Judge Rico Sebastian Liwanag of the National Capital Region’s Regional Trial Court Branch 136, for the arrest of a certain Dennis E. Esguerra, who was facing robbery charges.

Since the POGO ban, PAOCC executive director Gilbert Cruz disclosed that operators have been blending into “plain sight,” disguising their operations to be able to 'freely' operate while avoid detection by the authorities.

"The operation of a POGO in the same building as crucial business establishments poses a 'security risk'. Although the POGO operator claimed to have a special class business process outsourcing (BPO) permit, it lacked proper accreditation from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCor)," Cruz pointed out.

Adding to the alarm, authorities found text blasters and an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) catcher—devices capable of intercepting mobile phone traffic and tracking users.