Online gaming giant Oriental Group was one of three Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) to be cleared of human trafficking charges by the Department of Justice (DOJ), with a panel ruling there was no evidence of their involvement, according to the Philippine News Agency.
The ruling, handed down in November but only made public this week, also included fellow online operators MOA Cloudzone Corp and the Shuang Ma Company.
The case was filed last September by the Philippine National Police-Women and Children Protection Center (PNP-WCPC) on behalf of 13 workers from Burma who were rescued from a residence in Parañaque City, who allegedly worked for the three POGOs in question.
However, prosecutors singled out a recruiter named Christine Chue Ni Quian as the one who had advertised, interviewed and recruited the workers and then made them work against their will.
The panel subsequently ordered criminal charges be filed against the recruiter for syndicated trafficking but cleared the POGOs, ruling the PNP-WCPC’s claims that the companies in question had employed the workers were unsubstantiated. It also found no evidence of any conspiracy among the defendants or of any express agreement among them to commit a crime or illegally traffic the workers.
“Basic rule is that mere allegation is not evidence and is not equivalent to proof. Charges based on suspicion and speculation likewise cannot be given credence,” the panel stated.
The alleged involvement of MOA Cloudzone Corp in kidnapping and trafficking was first raised by Senator Grace Poe during a privileged speech in December where she questioned the need for a POGO industry.
Gaming regulator PAGCOR said this week it has no plans to shut POGOs down and aimed to “nurture” the industry instead.
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