The sub-lessor of the Pasay scam hub is Marcos’ reclamation chair Alex Lopez

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) Chairman Alexander T. Lopez, a presidential appointee, is the sublessor of a POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators) company in Pasay that was found with traces of love fraud, according to the sublease contract obtained by Rappler.

The sublease, which was finalized in January 2024, features Lopez in his capacity as chairman and CEO of Pacific Concrete Products Inc. which leased the ground floor of the building to 3D Analyzer Information Technologies Inc., which was recently raided by government agencies.

At the time of the raid, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. POGOs already banned.

The entire property is owned by the Philippine National Construction Corp. or PNCC, a Government Owned and Controlled Corporation (GOCC). The contract shows that Pacific Concrete Products Inc. van Lopez has a 25-year lease with the PNCC.

Lopez’s Pacific Concrete confirmed the sublease to Rappler, but said the 3D analyzer is just one of its subtenant’s long lines. “Our company has been established since 1959, we are 65 years old, unlike other POGO scams you reported, this is new, there is layering. We are different, we are a Quadruple A contractor,” Pacific Concrete consultant Aldo Del Rosario told Rappler in a telephone interview on Thursday, October 10.

Rappler asked for Lopez’s side, but PRA referred us to Pacific Concrete counsel. “As with any leasing agreement, the tenant’s affairs are not the responsibility of the landlord, and the tenant is solely responsible to the authorities for its activities, whether legal or illegal,” the company said in a separate statement.

At the time of the sublease, Lopez had already been appointed to the post by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., or in November 2023. Before his PRA appointment, Lopez ran for mayor of Manila in the 2022 elections under Marcos’s party, Partido Federal ng. Pilipinas (PFP). He lost.

Lied to Pagcor?

3D Analyzer obtained an Internet Gaming License (IGL or POGO’s new brand) in September 2023, which was valid until September 2025. According to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), the company informed them that they had already ceased operations. It turned out not to be true.

“Niloko nila ‘yung Pagcor, sabi nila hindi na sila operational. Puwede ba ‘yun? Eh mei iba, bagong rent long (They fooled Pagcor, saying they were not operational. But how is that possible? Some employees were newly hired),” Winston Casio, spokesperson for the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), told Rappler in an earlier interview.

A joint operation by PAOCC, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Immigration on October 3 discovered “red flags of romance fraud victimizing foreigners” such as pre-registered SIM cards, multiple phones per employee and multiple open windows. for Facebook and secure messaging apps like Telegram and Signal. (Rappler sent messages to 3D Analyzer via their Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) email addresses on October 4, but has not yet responded.)

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3D Analyzer’s corporate structure is made up of mostly Filipinos, with the exception of one Chinese name that has registered with the SEC as Filipino.

Del Rosario said they were aware they were renting to a POGO licensee, adding that “our property was open to everyone.” Under the contract, 3D Analyzer paid Lopez’s company P3.5 million in monthly rent

“‘Yung mga na-raid dati’ yung mga iligal diba, ‘yung mga walang permit, but 3D Analyzer showed business permits from the LGU, gaming license from Pagcor and from there it was legit at first glance,’ Del Rosario said.

(Those who were raided before were right, the illegal ones, the ones who didn’t have a license, but 3D Analyzer showed business licenses from the local government unit, a gambling license from Pagcor and from then on it was prima facie legitimate.)

The largest raided POGO hubs in Tarlac and Pampanga actually also had permits, which is why the local executives in Bamban and Porac were sanctioned. But 3D Analyzer’s activities were notable for their brutality, because at the time of the raid, all kinds of POGOs had already been banned by Marcos himself, and they were already said to be phasing out. A total of 254 workers were arrested in the raid, including 190 foreigners who were under judicial investigation for violating the country’s immigration law.

“Pag dating is no longer available, dalawang araw, tatlong linggo, nakita namin sa ID, mga bagong hire, kaya walang plano and 3D Analyzer na tumigil ng operation, kaya hahabulin nam sila, hindi lang and mga foreigners na ito,” said Casio.

(When we got there, they had just been there one day, two days, three weeks. We saw in the IDs that they were just new hires, so there really was no plan from the 3D Analyzer to shut down operations, so that we are going after them, not just these foreigners.)

Del Rosario said they also contacted 3D Analyzer when Marcos announced the total POGO ban in July. “Yes, we sent them a letter reiterating President Marcos’ statement during his SONA (State of the Nation Address) that the POGOs should be phased out by December 2024… unfortunately no (they did not respond),” Del Rosario said .

Del Rosario said they will cooperate with any investigation, but they have not yet received any report of the raid. – Rappler.com