Duterte to Deport More Than 1300 Gambling Workers

In what has been called the first wave of mass raids to round up undocumented Chinese-nationals working in the Philippines’ illegal casino trade, President Duterte has reinforced his heavy-handed message to combat illegal gaming activities in his country.

So far, more than 1,300 undocumented Chinese immigrants have been rounded up by Philippine authorities during a raid in the Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino in Clark Freeport, Pampanga, a property owned by Macau mogul Jack Lam. More than 250 have already been deported in batches between December 20 and January 17. With more than 1,000 left in holding, authorities are working hard to send the remaining illegals home “as soon as possible” according to spokesperson for the Bureau of Immigration, Atty. Ma. Antonette Mangrobang, who also stated all of those apprehended have deportation orders and the speed of the process depends solely on how fast tickets home for those in custody can be secured.

Charges against the Accused

Among those apprehended in the Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino, charges include working in violation of the limitations and conditions of their visa, as well as engaging in an unlicensed online gaming business. Some are accused of being undocumented entirely. Among those accused, 39 claim to have been illegally recruited in China. Those 39 are represented by attorney Jonathan Sarte, who explained to the DOJ that those individuals were promised jobs at call centers, some of which were minors and turned 18 only after they’d been in Manila for some time.

Sarte went on to state, “When they arrived they did not know it was an online gambling. They were not in a position to know that because they were just employed by the company who runs the online gambling.”

Macau’s Jack Lam

The apprehended have all been accused of working for Jack Lam’s illegal online gaming operations in the Philippines. Lam is a notable Macau gambling tycoon who stands accused by the DOJ of violating anti-dummy laws, and has been one of the many individuals targeted by Duterte’s anti-gambling task force for bribery and economic sabotage in the Philippines. Duterte has ordered Lam’s assets seized as of yesterday in an effort to recover unpaid tax revenue derived from his illicit gaming activities.

Lam had fled the country in November following a bribery scandal that involved Lam and Bureau of Immigration officials. It is reported that a former police superintendent, Wally Sombero, had acted as a liaison between Lam and officials and had been videotaped delivering $1 million in cash to immigration officials in exchange for the discharge of the arrested Chinese workers.

Lam has since been reported to desire reentry to address the accusations against him. However, President Duterte has stated Lam will return only to the Philippines to face justice.