2 ex-Pogo workers nabbed in Las Piñas for selling fake money worth P150,000

MANILA, Philippines — Two former Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) workers were arrested in Las Piñas City for allegedly selling fake banknotes worth P150,000, the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP ACG) announced on Friday.

Police discovered the suspects allegedly advertising the counterfeit money on social media last June 21, then arranged a meeting to entrap them on Agila Avenue in Barangay Manuyo Dos last Wednesday.

PNP ACG identified the suspects as Cotabato City resident “Usa,” 18; and Zamboanga del Sur resident “Agila,” 30, both male.

"These two we caught. We can confirm that they are former employees of Pogo," PNP ACG Director Brig. Gen. Bernard Yang said in a press conference in Camp Crame on Friday. "They were drivers of our Pogo companies."



"They started selling this fake money when Pogos were shut down," Yang noted.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. banned Pogos in his State of the Nation Address last year.

Yang said the anti-cybercrime unit has yet to find out from which Pogo the suspects were from.

Online groups

According to the police, the arrested individuals were caught with 150 counterfeit P1,000 bills, which they were allegedly selling for P150 each.

"There really are online groups that are selling. So, we reported this to the ACG," Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Payments and Currency Investigation Group officer Atty. Mark Fajardo said at the press conference.

As to the quality of the counterfeit money confiscated, Fajardo said, "It’s not good. How it was done seems sloppy because they don’t seem to be experienced."

The BSP officer also explained that they were able to tell the fake banknotes apart because the watermark was more apparent and the security thread was only printed.

Yang further noted that the suspects mainly operated in Metro Manila.

When asked whether police had determined who supplied the fake banknotes, Yang answered, "We’re still looking into that. These two people we caught may have a bigger boss."

READ: PNP-ACG: Most online scammers now are Filipinos who ‘learned’ from Pogos

The suspects are currently detained at the ACG custodial facility and will face charges for violating Article 168 of the Revised Penal Code, which pertains to illegal possession and use of false treasury or bank notes and other instruments of credit.

The charges are in relation to Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act. /apl

(2025/07/04-11:31)

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