MANILA -- Chinese gambling operator Jack Lam reportedly left the country last November 29, Bureau of Immigration (BI) spokesperson Antonette Mangrobang said.

Mangrobang said travel records show that a certain Lam Yi Lok, believed to be Lam's real name, departed the country via a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong last November 29 and has no record of return.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday ordered the arrest of Lam over bribery and economic sabotage charges, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa said.

The order came after the arrest of over 1,000 Chinese workers who were illegally working in Lam's online gaming office in Pampanga and his alleged attempt to bribe government officials to free his men, Dela Rosa said on dzMM.

In a separate interview Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II explained that Lam can be arrested even without a warrant since the charges are that of a "continuing crime."