Philippines to Review Visa-Free Entry for Chinese Citizens as POGO Raids Expose 82 Entrants

The Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will look into whether the country’s recently introduced visa-free entry scheme for Chinese citizens is being used to revive illicit Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) activity. For high-risk operators, the point is simple: entry rules and gaming enforcement are now colliding in the same policy file.

1. According to the Presidential Palace, the DFA will investigate whether the visa-free arrangement is being exploited after a series of raids on suspected illegal POGO hubs led to 101 foreign nationals being slated for deportation. Of those, 82 are Chinese citizens who entered the Philippines under the visa-free scheme.
2. POGO was originally designed to make the Philippines a hub for licensed offshore gaming, but in practice it became a cover for a wider set of illegal activities. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. officially banned the POGO industry effective from January 2027 after a sharp rise in criminal activity, including human trafficking, kidnappings, and various scams.
3. Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the DFA was being asked to assess whether the visa-free policy for Chinese nationals is creating adverse consequences, including whether it is being used to facilitate criminal activity in the Philippines.
4. The review lands at the same time as pressure to expand the 14-day visa-free program. Policymakers have discussed extending it beyond Manila and Cebu, with direct flights to more airports across the Philippines, while Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay last month said she hoped to add more gateways, including Clark Freeport Zone.
5. The tourism side of the ledger is not small. The Philippines welcomed 4.42 million visitors in the first eight months of 2026, with China as the fourth-largest source market at more than 300,000 arrivals, or about 7% of total tourists. The Department of Tourism is targeting 6.4 million to 6.8 million international visitors in 2026.

That puts a familiar high-risk tension back on the table: tourism, border policy, and gaming enforcement are never far apart in the Philippines, especially when Chinese arrivals have historically overlapped with demand tied to gambling.