Nitong mga nakaraang buwan, kabi-kabila ang isinagawang raid ng Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) kasama ang iba pang awtoridad sa iba’t ibang illegal na POGO hubs sa bansa kabilang na ang sa Bamban, Tarlac at Porac, Pampanga.
Dito, tumambad ang mga illegal na gawain gaya ng kidnapping, human trafficking, at torture.
Ayon kay PAOCC Usec. Gilbert Cruz, posibleng napag-aralan ng mga illegal na POGO ang kahinaan ng ating regulatory agencies kaya nakalusot ang mga ito sa bansa.
Ang update sa mga isinasagawang raid at imbestigasyon sa mga illegal POGO hub, pakinggan sa panayam kay PAOCC Usec. Gilbert Cruz dito sa #TheMangahasInterviews.
Dito, tumambad ang mga illegal na gawain gaya ng kidnapping, human trafficking, at torture.
Ayon kay PAOCC Usec. Gilbert Cruz, posibleng napag-aralan ng mga illegal na POGO ang kahinaan ng ating regulatory agencies kaya nakalusot ang mga ito sa bansa.
Ang update sa mga isinasagawang raid at imbestigasyon sa mga illegal POGO hub, pakinggan sa panayam kay PAOCC Usec. Gilbert Cruz dito sa #TheMangahasInterviews.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Pogo and politics have a connection, so we must watch out for the coming elections.
00:11The spread of illegal pogos, where the mayor, governor, barangay, police, immigration, and other government agencies were involved.
00:23Let's talk about that with Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz, the director of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission.
00:32Good day ma'am and to our viewers and listeners of our program, good day to all of you.
00:39All right. Let's start. How many raids have been carried out in the past three months?
00:44Your work is in a row, in Bambantarlac, Porac, Pampanga. How many operations and in summary, what are the results?
00:55Since last year, we have carried out eight raids. These are our latest, Porac, Bambantarlac, and San Balin, which is one of the biggest pogo hubs in the Philippines.
01:16What are the results? How many in total? Those who were arrested, saved, cases pending. It's like every day, you're in the news, but there's no memory of the people.
01:29It's like your work is unceasing.
01:33There are many already ma'am. If we add up all the arrests, we already got thousands.
01:42We are with the Philippine National Police and other law enforcement agencies. Most of the arrested were charged with anti-trafficking in person.
01:56Some were not included in the management and were not demanded for physical injuries or torture. They were deported to China.
02:10Our news, because our coordination with the counterparts is good, until now, those who were deported to China and other countries, most of them are still in prison.
02:24They are not allowed to run because in their country, they don't allow such scamming activities.
02:32Usec, in the past few weeks, including the Senate hearings and the reports from your agency, it seems that many bad things were done to this pogo.
02:43What is your insight? What's wrong with pogos? Why should it be banned?
02:49Yes. To be honest ma'am, the discoveries that we have seen since the beginning until now, we have seen the involvement of illegal pogo hubs in kidnapping, murder, human trafficking,
03:08torture, and drugs. We were able to get drugs from the pogo hubs, those illegal pogo hubs.
03:18The fugitives, every time we were raided by illegal pogo hubs, we were able to recover 11, 12, or 16 wanted persons or fugitives from other countries.
03:38It's saddening that we thought these pogo hubs will give us good things for our Philippines, but what I see is more negative. The negative outweighs the benefits as promised that they will give us.
04:05Okay. But the question in people's minds is, what took the government too long to realize that the bad results of the pogo are like that?
04:14At the time of President Duterte, more than 400 were registered. Now, there are more than 100 who are still being chased, whose license has expired or who are operating illegally. Why did it take so long before action was taken?
04:28Because ma'am, you won't know the violations until no one reports to you. Like in our case, there are those who send us torture videos. There are those who send us incidents of foreign nationals being killed.
04:49There are those who send reports coming from the embassies that there is prostitution in a pogo hub. So that's the only time ma'am that we will take action. We will apply for warrants, then we will get our operatives to help us like the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation to raid it.
05:14Once we have raided it, we will be surprised that there is prostitution inside. We will be surprised that they have prisons or what they call torture rooms.
05:27The torture equipments, for this particular case ma'am, in Porac, we saw many torture rooms. We saw four torture rooms. There are many prisons and torture equipment scattered there.
05:46To me, it's normal that they are doing torture inside.
05:51Local government units and barangay should have a duty to act because we said you would act on complaints or reports. But the barangay or LGU should have noticed that there are incidents like that.
06:08Let's go to Porac. What did the mayor say? He's not given a license to operate. It's more than five hectares. What did he say?
06:17It's more than that. I think it's more than 30 hectares ma'am.
06:2230 hectares. Okay. So the buildings and construction there were damaged. Pogo workers arrived. 150 plus were rescued. There are 30 plus Filipinos.
06:34What if the barangay and LGU did not notice that?
06:37When you build an ordinary house, you get a building permit and a sanitary permit and you get a fire permit for the fire code.
06:51They should have known. Of course, there are reports in that area that dead people were found. Maybe we should look into those things.
07:09If you're a local, you should look into those things. How much for those who were found dead? Not just one, but two were found dead.
07:22It's the same with Bambantarlac. The suspended mayor, Alice Goh, said that she was not given a license and the construction of the Pogo Hub continued on her land.
07:37What happened there? These two mayors are the ones who are being investigated. What did you see as their responsibility that they did not take action?
07:48Our coordination with DILG through Secretary Benjar Abalos is good. They investigated that in Bamban. Actually, that's the reason why our ombudsman was suspended.
08:04I think that's what should be done here. What is the lack of local government officials and establishments like this?
08:16It's important for us to monitor. This is what we are doing, like in Bamban. They call it BGC of the North of Tarlac, the Bamban Pogo Hub.
08:31Of course, that's where the people are. Local government officials should look into what's happening there. Being your trophy, your biggest place, I think this goes the same thing here in Porac.
08:51There are a lot of buildings inside, a lot of activities are happening. The monitoring of the locals should be done here. Those who are giving a lot of work or revenue to the municipality, we should focus on and take care of them.
09:19Okay. Usec Gilbert, there are also raids in Parañaque. It seems that not only in Porac and Bamban that we are talking about, but also in your illegal Pogos. What other places are you monitoring?
09:34Ma'am Malu, what you said earlier is correct. Forty-nine people registered and got a permit for Pagkor. We are looking for more than 300, not 100, 300 who are spread throughout the Philippines.
09:53Okay.
10:23So not only in Porac, not only in Bamban, what other places are you flashing?
10:28We can say that throughout the Philippines. We are in Mindanao, we are in Visayas, we are in a lot of places in Luzon, but we are the center of the illegal Pogo Hubs in Metro Manila.
10:43Does that mean that you don't need to be reactive or if you received a complaint, is there no proactive steps? For example, auditing all LGUs in your localities where there are Pogos.
10:59Can't you check right now before there's an incident, like what you're saying about human trafficking, torture, etc.?
11:07Pagkor, PAOG, and DILG called a meeting. All licensed Pogos were called. Then we showed PAOG what's really happening inside the Pogo Hub.
11:29Maybe we should say that the mayors don't know what's happening inside the Pogo Hub. So we showed them a video of the results of our raids.
11:43We showed that there's torture. We showed that there's prostitution inside. We showed that there's scamming activities. They're not doing online gaming, but scamming activities.
11:58So when we showed that yesterday to the local government and their representatives, they were shocked. Others were shocked because they don't know that this is happening.
12:13So what happened is good. They asked for advice and they said they can help us with the inspection because they don't know how to inspect.
12:27Which is true. Because ma'am, to know that there's a scamming activity, you need technical support. You have ITs that can inspect.
12:42During our raids, ma'am, we were able to get thousands of pre-registered SIM cards. We were able to see computers that are used in scamming activities.
12:55We were able to see a lot of cellphones and the so-called seed prices and hard drives. There are a lot of things that you need to see, plus inside the computer, you need to have information to inspect to know that it's a scamming activity.
13:19What are the promises of the LGU representatives? What will they do?
13:24Once they are inspected, they will see that there are indicators that there are illegal activities inside the IGL or POGO hub. They will recommend that it's either for police operation or for closure of the POGO hub.
13:47Yousef Gilbert, you became the director of the Philippine National Police Academy. You also became the regional commander of the Dangerous Drugs Board.
13:58This problem starts with the entry of illegal workers. It means that we have a problem with immigration because thousands of people were rescued and deported. What is the role of immigration?
14:14It's like an old story, but it hasn't been acted on.
14:18Yes ma'am. I think we should be strict. For example, if there are foreign workers, they should hold their passports. In our cases, when we are raided, there are no passports.
14:33Basically, that's why they are removing the passports of the management and they are taking foreign nationals' passports so they can have leverage and holdings.
14:49You cannot leave, you cannot make a mistake in this company because you will not be able to leave. We will hold your life here. We will protect you. Do what we want you to do.
15:05So we should be strict. Once the POGO hub is inspected by the Bureau of Immigration and they saw that the employees are not holding their passports, it means there's a problem.
15:20They should be strict. If they are Chinese, they will be pugitated. There should be coordination with the other foreign counterparts.
15:33We just discovered that there are records of the employees here. Once the foreign law enforcement counterparts enter, once they check one person, the real name will be released and the records will be released.
15:56It should not be like that. Once a foreign national enters the companies here, even if it's not POGO, we should know that he's a Filipino and we should check him.
16:07But it's the other way around. We just discovered that there are records of foreign counterparts checking.
16:14So step one is to enter the Philippines through immigration. You met Chinese citizens or Chinese nationals, but there are other foreigners included in your POGO raid who were deported or illegal workers.
16:30What are the countries where you caught other POGO workers?
16:36The majority here are from China, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Burmese. We have some from Rwanda.
16:56So it means that if there is coordination before this problem, Interpol, was discovered, you're saying there's a record of fugitives, there's a record of pending cases in their country, and there's recruitment across borders.
17:16Have you seen this? Do you know the support of Interpol?
17:19Ma'am, it's good that you said that. Recruitment is happening online. There are many online platforms that are spread even if we check on social media.
17:33Recruitment of scammers and POGO hubs is open. That's where we should start the investigation. Because we will know, for example, if they will go to the Philippines.
17:48If they will go to the Philippines, if they posted their application, if they are hiring, if they have licenses. If they posted their hiring, we will know if they will go there illegally.
18:07What you said is a big thing ma'am.
18:10It's easy to say that there was news of corruption, like the pastille in the immigration syndicate. Is it possible that many foreigners got involved in these illegal POGO hubs because there's a problem in immigration that is not solved?
18:29That's right ma'am. Commissioner Rertan Cinco has mentioned that we need to intervene in our immigration. Maybe the use of new technology for this.
18:46We don't need to go to an office to find out if there's a case. We should check on our computers. We should know right away. But what's happening is, whatever name I gave to these workers,
19:08that's what we are accepting.
19:10So if you notice ma'am, there are people spreading national IDs, even passports. We were caught with a passport in Taiwan using a Filipino passport.
19:29If you check on the identities of these people, it's wrong. They are not like that. They are changing their identities when it comes to this.
19:39So it means that it's not just immigration, but also passport processing. There's a problem with that.
19:45Yes ma'am.
19:46Visa is free, right?
19:49Yes ma'am.
19:51So those steps, if we really want to be safe, what can we do? Aside from having raids and filing a case.
20:00Because you said there are around 100, maybe 300 more POGOs that you should target?
20:06Yes ma'am. The best thing I've seen here is, it must be a whole-of-nation approach, ma'am.
20:14So it won't be too much of a hassle. It should be a whole-of-nation approach. You don't need to go from one office to another office to another office.
20:26Because ma'am, that's where the corruption we're talking about comes in. Non-appearance, they don't go to that office anymore, they just send pictures.
20:36That's what we've seen. We've recovered some IDs from our raids. The Chinese are the ones in the pictures.
20:46And then national government issued IDs, the IDs they use.
20:55But the Chinese, their names in immigration, in our counterparts from other countries, they are not.
21:06So it means they are assuming a new name, a new identity.
21:11Does this mean the problem is too wide? Because if we say there are gaps or failures or weaknesses, not just immigration, passport, processing,
21:24even I think the corruption, to begin with, because of immigration. So are we the ones who are affected by these gaps?
21:34Because all the weaknesses of our regulatory agencies are now coming out as the source of the problem.
21:42I don't want to say that. I think they studied our weaknesses. They saw our weaknesses that it's easy to apply for an ID there.
21:55Non-appearance, you just need to give this and you will get an ID. That's where we should focus on our IDs.
22:04Because once you get a national ID, you have a driver's license and you have a complete license, you have a PhilHealth,
22:13the next thing you will do is apply for a passport with the assumed name.
22:22So if you have a passport, you can go to other countries and you will spread to other countries.
22:29But if you have a Philippine passport, that's the problem. The Philippines will be destroyed, which was not done by the Philippines.
22:37So those documents, civil registry records. In the case of Bamban Mayor Alice Goh, the birth certificate is being questioned.
22:45Are we looking at vulnerabilities? Our civil registry process is very weak or there are many gaps.
22:54When it comes to government-issued IDs, even the PhilSeas, the national ID, what is this? Is this a breakdown of the regulations in the Philippines?
23:04For me, it's like an eye-opener. I think this is the time that we need to go back to our processes.
23:16Sometimes, we need to look into why this is happening. Maybe the process we're doing is not right at this time.
23:29How much money has been spread here in Pogo and who are the ones we can say are at fault?
23:37Because sometimes the laws are okay, the processes are okay, but people are not okay and they're in for some money on the side.
23:44In terms of money, there's no problem with their money. They don't care about the money.
23:50Actually, their Alphard is just for the market. For us, it's a luxury car. It's really for the rich.
23:58But as we can see in our Pogo and Red, this is just for kidnapping, for the market. It's just an everyday car for them. So they don't care about the money.
24:11How much money is there for those who can convert or give commission? How much do you think? Because this is also a downstream economy.
24:25Whether it's in the uniformed services, civilian agencies, there are a lot of protection racket?
24:32Yes, ma'am. Definitely, ma'am. They will be protecting their interests. One way of protecting the interest, ma'am, is you will be PR'ed by the higher-ups.
24:48Of course, there are cases that they will sue. For example, they were tortured. What they will do is they will sign an affidavit of desistance.
25:04It means that there is no complaint that they were tortured. Then they will be given money and they will go home. That's what's happening in the system of Pogo and Red.
25:15So it's like all the time, they will know how to get in and out using money.
25:24Usec Gilbert, are there possible names that are coming out, local officials, barangay officials, PNP, immigration, that you are looking for as a protector of Pogos?
25:39There are some that are being investigated, ma'am. But it's up to the investigating body. For us, we will be focusing on the complaints that we were subjected to, like the torture, the entry of illegal foreign nationals and the operation of Pogo.
26:00But as far as the involvement of the local government, the DILG and the ombudsman, we are giving them support.
26:13Usec, we have an election next year. The Senate said, one of the things they're reminding is that you have a policy in Pogo.
26:22It means you can do fundraising if you're a candidate. You can also promise to protect them if you win.
26:30How big is the political ambition of our LGUs or re-electionists and possible funds from Pogo? Are you also looking into that?
26:41I will give you a figure, ma'am. We are chasing 300 plus Pogos. All in all, there are 500 plus Pogos in the Philippines, including those with permits.
26:56They are earning millions a month and they can donate. Whoever will be their sponsor so they can be protected, they can donate.
27:14Just count it, if it's 500 plus, if they will donate, for example, two million each, they can do it.
27:24So if you're a candidate in May and there's a fund that you can get from Pogo, it's illegal money but you can hide it.
27:34It means Pogos should be protected because in May 2025, our goal is to be decision-makers, the Pogo operators.
27:45We can say that ma'am. We can say that with all the resources and connections they have right now. We can say that.
27:52Okay. Yousef, you said that your job is anti-organized crime. What will you focus on? Filing cases, etc.
28:01But we noticed that your agency is small, although you are like a coordinating body with support from major agencies, DILG, PNP, etc.
28:14How many people are there in your co-audit? You said that you have only 16 people.
28:21That's right ma'am. We are only 40 plus.
28:26Now you're 40?
28:28Yes. But we are looking at a lot of people so we really need the help of other agencies.
28:37So we usually ask for help from other agencies so we can be supported every time we have a raid.
28:47Okay. So those 40 plus, what is the composition? How many are lawyers? How many have police training, etc.
28:57So people have an idea because you're always in the news. I don't think people have taken notice of how many people you have.
29:04I am a retired general in PNP. I also have colleagues who are all retired from the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
29:19I'm very proud of this team ma'am because with such a small number ma'am, we are able to do what we should do.
29:48Your students are not from PNPA or the Philippine National Police Academy where you were the chief?
29:55No ma'am. There are a lot of people here who are good in IT.
30:00Okay. Yousef Gilbert, I know you became TOIM, Ten Outstanding Young Men, and you have a lot of experiences.
30:09But to be honest, what is the relationship? There is PAOK, PAOK-TF, there is NACTA. Explain it to me layer by layer, the anti-crime bodies.
30:21Before ma'am, PAOK has a task force. They have contingent, AFP, TNP, NBI, they have fiscal. But now ma'am, we don't have a task force anymore.
30:40We don't have a task force anymore. We only have a commission, the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission. But what we do is when we have operations, we call our help.
30:54So those 40, that's it. When we need people, we ask for people. Unlike before, they have their own task force.
31:08Okay. What is NACTA?
31:11It's an anti-kidnapping task force. Now we have AKG, the Anti-Kidnapping Group. It's a big group in the Philippine National Police.
31:26So there are a lot of layer agencies, but in people's minds, they can teach, they can have no clear accountability. How do you fix that sir?
31:38Because for you, it looks like you're already out of work. There are cases in court where you are the complainant or the one who will face it. What will be the role of others?
31:50Even if we say you have the authority to mobilize all other agencies of the PNP, AFP, the ILG, etc. What can be the streamlining?
32:01Yes. We have a delegation. We are the ones who do the intel work, we are the ones who manage the cases, we are the ones who run the operations.
32:13But in the investigation, we are giving it to the Philippine National Police. Then being, they have CIDG for the investigation, they have ACG, the Anti-Cybercrime Group.
32:28We are giving the investigation to them. Even those who attend the court, they are the ones who face it. If we need to face the court being the case manager, then we will go.
32:45Who has custody of the evidence? It looks like it's all over the place. Computers, drugs, effects in torture chambers. Who will be responsible if there's a case that we want to win?
33:03For these cases ma'am that we handled, the computer is the one who is in custody of the Anti-Cybercrime Group. For example, we used CIDG.
33:19We are investigating torture and evidence. Sometimes, the court places the CIDG as the custodian. If there's money, if there's a vehicle, sometimes it's the Highway Patrol Group.
33:40In our previous raids ma'am, the vehicles were secured in the POGO hubs that we obtained. We are just chaining them and attaching them.
33:55Ma'am Malu, I think it's right to say that all the raids where POGO became the lead agency, all the POGO hubs we raided, we subject them to criminal and civil forfeiture.
34:14Meaning ma'am, the buildings, like here in Pasay, the buildings that we obtained, the two huge buildings, under civil forfeiture and criminal forfeiture. Meaning ma'am, there's a possibility that it will go to the government.
34:33It's the same in our Sanbali. In Banban ma'am, the POGO is the custodian under criminal forfeiture.
34:46There are other cases that we should look into because the cases will last for a long time. What is the fund of POGO? It looks small.
34:54It's like a PC that you will throw away because you said you don't know when this will end.
35:00Yes ma'am. So far ma'am, our Executive Secretary Lopez Bersamin is very supportive.
35:07As to... per operation ma'am, it's a big expense. Imagine ma'am, if you raid it, automatically you will be the one who will be fed to the prisoners.
35:19You will be the one who will be fed to the guards there. You will be the one who will pay for electricity, water, because it's already running.
35:29While it's running ma'am, you will be the one who will be paying for it. You will bring it to the court.
35:38Most of them are still in the hospital ma'am because some are depressed, so they are brought to the hospital. We are still the ones who go to the hospital.
35:47When they are deported, we are the ones who are paying for it ma'am. We are the ones who are being deported.
35:53What's more ma'am, when the deportees are released, the mothers will come because they have children.
36:02So now, we have 8 or 12 children that we are supporting with milk, pampers, and sometimes we are able to afford the expenses for the family.
36:16But we're trying to coordinate with the DSWD ma'am because we don't want to turn our backs on that responsibility.
36:26We can see that this is a problem and we should not turn our backs on it. But I already informed the executive secretary about this.
36:35I said it's not good that we already arrested and deported the father and we will let the son go.
36:44So how many children did you save or left in your custody that you are worrying about?
36:51We have 12 children now, including the mother. We are not taking care of them.
36:58If they are in need, the child will get sick and run to us. If they need milk or pampers, they run to us.
37:06Sometimes, they run to the house because the father is no longer there.
37:11Of course, they don't have contacts anymore. It's pitiful.
37:17Those who were arrested, are there pending cases or do they need to testify?
37:22Those who were arrested ma'am, especially the bosses who were left, they are still here because there are cases.
37:35Those who are involved in torture or those who are inflicting harm to the workers, they are still here in prison.
37:45We arrested them. Including the witnesses, you should take care of the witnesses and those who are complaining.
37:55You should take care of them because you don't need to send them to China or their country because they need to testify here first.
38:07We still need to take care of them.
38:10Yousef Gilbert, you have a lot of work but also a lot of dangers that you are facing.
38:16What are the risks? Is there nothing so far that has become a threat to the security or safety of your personnel?
38:24We are also accepting threats ma'am.
38:27Surprisingly, three days ago ma'am, we arrested a torturer or an enforcer of POGO.
38:42We saw while he was browsing his cell phone, we saw that there were dead people on his cell phone.
38:53Maybe they were the ones who were injured or killed. I don't know why you need to take a picture of the dead.
39:02Surprisingly, when he was browsing, I saw my picture on his cell phone.
39:09I said I don't know what his intention is of having my pictures inside his cell phone.
39:18In other personnel, the 40 brave men and women of POGO, are there still rumors of threats?
39:27Yes ma'am. There are threats that are being accepted.
39:32There are people coming to warn you.
39:34But ma'am, this is just a job.
39:37What we understand is that we are in POGO.
39:41Of course, it's just our family.
39:43But as far as the job, this is just a job. There's no personnel.
39:48So Yousef Gilbert, because you are frequently in the news,
39:52in the Senate, some senators in the hearings, especially after the closed door executive session,
39:58they said POGO should be banned. Is that also the feeling of the people?
40:03Like what I said earlier, the negative is at waste, ma'am.
40:10The benefits it promised us that it will give us jobs.
40:16From what I see, it brings more crime to us and shame to our country.
40:22So it's better, ma'am.
40:25For me, this is just my opinion. Let's stop it.
40:28There are some issues that you said you will conduct more than 300 investigations.
40:36Then you made a comment that you don't even know when this will end.
40:40What should people watch out for in your work?
40:44Because there are pending cases that have already been submitted to the court,
40:48but you know that the judicial process in the Philippines is very slow.
40:53What are the next steps that you think should be the performance indicator that we are fighting against the illegal POGO?
41:03Ma'am, that's probably our best tandem right now.
41:07Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin is there, the former justice chief.
41:12We are discussing with the courts that maybe we can rush this because we need to get rid of this.
41:27We need to deport this.
41:29In our other cases, the process is fast.
41:34But let's be clear. Was there a leak in Porac during the warrant of arrest?
41:39Yes. Our people are still in court.
41:45Someone sent a video that people are already running outside.
41:50The Supreme Court is investigating that and Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin is also being investigated.
42:00This means that we should be aware of the WES.
42:05They can be the tipster if you will carry out raids or operations.
42:12It can be like that. It can also be done by the police or our colleagues.
42:19That's why I said we need to investigate this.
42:22This is not the first time this has happened.
42:24Even in Banban, when we arrived, they were already leaving.
42:30It's a good thing that we were able to block the two gates.
42:40We blocked our vehicles so they cannot leave.
42:44But they are already inside the gate.
42:46This has happened to us three times already.
42:51You can be alone with anyone or any agency.
42:55Yousef Gilbert, you are a retired police major general.
43:00Is this the most difficult case or issue that you have faced?
43:05For me, I think this is one of the most difficult.
43:08Because during our time as captain, major, and colonel, I know my enemy.
43:14I don't know my enemy here.
43:17The enemy is not just the ones in POGO or the ones recruited by POGO, but also the protectors of POGO. Is that so?
43:25Yes. That's why I said I don't know who my enemy is here.
43:30Before, I was careful. Now, I'm very careful.
43:36That's why I didn't hesitate.
43:38They said, let's close down POGO.
43:42But before, former President Duterte was very happy to invite them in.
43:47Now, the atmosphere is changing.
43:51But it's possible that not everyone will permit the banning of POGO.
43:58Yes. Everyone has their own interpretation.
44:01But for me, like I said earlier,
44:04what I've seen and my opinion is based on our experience and what I've seen.
44:12Okay. So, Yousef Gilbert, you were appointed as the director of POGO on January 23, right?
44:20Yes.
44:21So now, you've been in office for almost 15 months.
44:26What has happened to you?
44:28Do you have moments of doubt that POGO's job is possible?
44:35Where can you help to do your work better?
44:38Ma'am, I'm thankful that you're here, the media.
44:44Because I told myself, when I have doubts,
44:50the media is the only entity that can help me if I have doubts.
44:55And of course, Executive Secretary Bersami is a big help to me and the support that she gives.
45:05But the media plays a big role in exposing the activities that are happening inside the illegal POGO hubs.
45:17But just like in the West Philippine Sea, there's news every day.
45:21People are just excited.
45:23What you can face is, because you're in the media,
45:26you might have unbridled expectations of the results.
45:31A lot of people come to me like that, ma'am.
45:34What's your endgame? Maybe later on, maybe you're just doing nothing.
45:41I just don't pay much attention to it because those are the formulas
45:47on why an objective doesn't become successful once you send that kind of gossip or information.
46:01Marites and toilets.
46:03But you have personal goals.
46:05For example, you'd be happy to see what?
46:08What results?
46:10Ma'am, I'm just happy.
46:14My children don't know about my job.
46:19But now, they're asking.
46:22Is that true that we have Chinese here and our politics are saturated with Chinese?
46:34Every day, they're asking.
46:36Every day, they're talking about it in school.
46:40What happened to Mayor Guo, they're talking about it in school.
46:46I said, ma'am, it's like the patriotism of those kids is developing.
46:52I said, it's like this case was brought to life.
46:55The patriotism of the kids.
46:58It's not like that.
46:59My kids are the usual teenagers, the usual youth that are being ticked off.
47:05Now, they're talking about it.
47:09They're matched.
47:11That's why I'm happy.
47:12Maybe that's my motivation as to why I'm doing this even though I know it's dangerous.
47:19All right.
47:20I think that in the end, there should be progress.
47:24Not just in terms of national security, but also in terms of our politics because there will be elections.
47:32Is there anything you want to say to the people?
47:36Let's keep an eye on the candidates and if they have a relationship with the illegal Chinese.
47:42Yes, ma'am.
47:43I think what we're doing is enough.
47:46This is an eye-opener already for our voters.
47:53We need to be vigilant.
47:56We need to know how to choose.
47:59Because it's like you're inventing our future once you go wrong with their votes.
48:06And to those who are being given protection or are in the protection circle of the POGO,
48:12the government, the uniformed services, etc.
48:17What do you want to say to them?
48:19Maybe you can convince them to be more righteous in their ways.
48:25Maybe, ma'am, those people once upon a time became patriotic.
48:34Maybe they just went back to their roots, ma'am.
48:36Maybe they forgot or maybe it's just a reminder.
48:40It's still there.
48:42We should always be focused on being a public servant.
48:46What is the right service that we can give to the people and our families.
48:53You're not getting tired, Usec?
48:55Until when? Your patience and patience.
48:58I don't know, ma'am.
49:00I'm also asking myself that.
49:02But I'm still staying, ma'am.
49:04Alright. So it's still fight, fight, fight.
49:07The burdens of the people are insurmountable.
49:12Yes, ma'am.
49:14Alright. And to your people, is the moral still the same?
49:18Yes. That's what I always check.
49:22Their morals.
49:24Because if they are weak, of course, they need to be strong.
49:33Or else, they will give everything.
49:35Alright. But at this stage, you need more people, more personnel, more money, more funds?
49:40For me, I just need support in what I'm doing.
49:46I'm just asking for help.
49:48Because the people are no longer a question here.
49:52The funds are no longer a question here.
49:54The only question here is our sincerity in what we are doing.
49:59Alright. On that note, we thank you very much, Undersecretary Gilbert.
50:05And in the next interview, I hope we have an update on the cases submitted to the court.
50:15Have a good day, Usec. Thank you.
50:17Thank you, ma'am.