8 Filipinos rescued, 20 Chinese nabbed in suspected scam hubs in Pampanga
Authorities first raided a compound of two villas where 17 Chinese nationals were nabbed, according to a report of GMA Integrated News' Bam Alegre on Unang Balita on Tuesday.
Several equipment such as laptops and mobile phones were confiscated and are set to undergo digital forensic examination to gather more information on the operation of the suspects.
Based on the chats seen on a computer, the suspects seemed to be running a love scam.
Eight Filipinos were rescued in the operation. According to them, they are working inside the suspected scam hub for over eight hours in a day.
'May friend po na nagyayaya lang po. Maghahanap po ng client. 'Yun po, inaaral po namin kasi one week pa lang po kami rito,' one of the rescued Pinoys said.
(There was a friend who was just inviting us. We are looking for a client. We are just studying it because we have only been here for a week.)
'Bago lang po talaga ako rito. Kakadating lang po namin kahapon. May inaantay po kaming tao. Hindi po namin alam basta ang sabi po mag-antay lang po kami dito,' another rescued Filipina said.
(I am really new here. We just arrived yesterday. We are waiting for someone we don't know. They just said to wait here.)
The 17 arrested Chinese nationals were not able to give a statement due to language barrier.
Another residential property near the villas was also raided where three Chinese nationals were arrested due to alleged online fraud.
The suspects were brought to Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.
Authorities are checking if these two suspected scam operations were connected.
Clark Development Corporation vice president for security Retired Major General Lina Sarmiento said, 'Dito sa loob ng Clark Freeport Zone since 2023, ipinagbawal na ng Clark Development Corporation ang anumang gawain na may kinalaman sa POGO. So napakaimportante nito dahil talagang nililinis na natin 'yung ating bakuran dito.'
(Here within the Clark Freeport Zone since 2023, the Clark Development Corporation has banned any activity related to POGOs. This [raid] is very important because we are really cleaning up our yard here.)
The raids were led by the Bureau of Immigration, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Clark Development Corporation. —Joviland Rita/KG, GMA Integrated News
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