The Philippine government plans to confiscate a controversial 10-hectare plot in Barangay Balac, Porac, Pampanga, which was originally a park for offshore gaming operators (POGO), but unexpectedly ignited a series of legal battles involving fraud, money laundering, and real estate disputes.
The epicenter of the incident points directly to the headquarters of the suspected POGO group, Lucky South 99, where the undercurrents of interest are pushing the government's law enforcement authority and family property rights into direct confrontation.
Confrontation between Seizure Orders and Eviction Orders
In June 2024, after the government's sudden raid and seizure of the park, Chinese businessman Wu Duanren and his "female mastermind" Kathryn Ong surfaced, but the real trigger was the strong counterattack by the land heir, the Cruz family. The family obtained a court eviction order in August, demanding that the POGO operator Whirlwind Group move out, but the government refused to execute it on the grounds of "criminal evidence preservation."
Prosecutor Sonny Ocampo from the Department of Justice emphasized that although the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) have already taken control of the park, the formal confiscation process has not yet started, thus creating a legal deadlock.
The Triple-Entangled Business Maze
Delving into the property lineage, this plot can be seen as a microcosm of the business chaos in the Philippines: the land originally held by the Cruz family was partially sold to Chinese businessman Wu Duanren, and then leased to the POGO platform.
This "resale-lease" operation mirrors another fraud case in Tarlac Province, exposing systemic regulatory loopholes. Now, as the government rushes to freeze assets involved in fraud, the landlord family is determined to defend their ancestral property, and both sides are engaged in a tug-of-war over the same plot.
Shadows of the Powerful and Transnational Suspicions
The list of high-profile individuals involved in the case continues to grow: lawyer Harry Roque has fled to The Hague to seek political asylum, and Cassandra Ong, although briefly detained by Congress and then released, is still implicated.
The Department of Justice warns that illegal human trafficking and transnational fraud charges are still being investigated, potentially leading to more legal conflicts. This battle, which started over a piece of real estate, is evolving into a profound test of the rule of law in the Philippines.
