The Philippines has adopted a victim-centered approach in its crackdown on online scam centers, addressing the trafficking and abuse behind cybercrime operations linked to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
The reforms mark a shift from earlier enforcement gaps that made cybercrime cases difficult to prosecute, according to a report by the United Nations Information Centre Manila.
“How do you prove a cybercrime in 36 hours? It is not possible; we were scrambling,” said a former PAOCC official. “We had to improvise and ended up bringing charges of human trafficking – that is a lot easier to prove when you find hundreds of foreign nationals trapped in the compound.”
With support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) has adopted standard operating procedures that formalize a rights-based response.
The protocols, launched April 22 in Manila, cover victim repatriation, evidence collection, custody of suspects, and asset recovery.
“This significant undertaking reflects our collective resolve to strengthen inter-agency coordination, enhance operational efficiency, and reinforce our national framework in addressing organized and transnational crime,” said PAOCC Executive Director Benjamin C. Acorda.
Scam centers across Southeast Asia lure workers with false job offers before trapping them in compounds where they are forced into online fraud. Victims face coercion, debt bondage, surveillance, and violence.
Women are often targeted for online romance schemes and may be forced into sex work if they fail to meet quotas.
The crackdown intensified after the government banned POGOs, which had been widely used as fronts by criminal syndicates.
“Whatever revenues POGOs claimed to generate could never justify the lawlessness, exploitation, and social decay they left behind,” said Executive Secretary Ralph G. Recto.
Authorities have freed 5,949 individuals, including 3,483 foreign nationals, and charged 218 suspects.
“The Philippines has shown that it is taking this threat seriously,” said Amielle del Rosario of UNODC Philippines. “Online scam centers move across borders, adapt quickly, and are often linked to other abuses, including trafficking in persons.”
“No country can deal with this alone,” she added.
