BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Western Visayas is hunting down Chinese nationals engaged in illegal activities in this metropolis.
NBI-6’s monitoring includes operations against online gambling, fraud, and other criminal activities often associated with foreign nationals operating unlawfully in the city.
Last week, a Chinese national was apprehended here over smuggled cigarettes.
Reports of Chinese nationals involved in various illegal activities in Iloilo City have been confirmed by the NBI-6, according to Cong. Julienne Baronda.
Officials of NBI-6 went to her office and confirmed illegal activities including online gambling operations and other fraudulent schemes and criminal activities.
For his part, Mayor Jerry Treñas urged authorities to follow legal procedures and due process in handling individuals suspected of illegal activities.
“If the National Bureau of Investigation has indeed confirmed the presence of Chinese nationals involved in such, it is important to work within the bounds of the law to investigate, arrest, and deport them if necessary,” said Treñas.
“Protocols should be followed to ensure that all individuals are treated fairly and by the law. At the end of the day, the safety and welfare of every Ilonggo and Filipino should be valued above all,” the mayor added.
The NBI-6 assured to provide updates on the results of their operations against Chinese nationals involved in some illegal activities in the city.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has also been asked to investigate the reported proliferation of Chinese nationals lurking in posh subdivisions in the city.
In her letter to DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla dated July 2, Baronda voiced concerns about the influx of Chinese nationals in some parts of Iloilo City, including Puerto Real de Iloilo in La Paz, Monterosa Subdivision in Mandurriao, and Ledesco Subdivision also in La Paz.
“Though these foreigners have not caused trouble in the community and have been nice to their neighbors, what bothers the llonggo residents is that they are households where no one or only one of five speaks English. There are households where no one or only one of five speaks English,” read Baronda’s letter.
Treñas recently issued an executive order that provides guidelines on enhanced and stricter monitoring and collaboration with the City Hall departments and the police to address issues related to POGO operations.
Executive Order No. 094 declares the city’s policy on illegal POGOs and urges the police, the City Treasurer’s Office, the Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion Office, and the City Local Economic Enterprise Office (LEEO) to “utilize their powers under the law to investigate any suspected POGO establishments within the city.”
“This investigation shall include establishment illegally of POGOs without the required regulatory requirements, and establishments operating illegally as POGOs but registered as operating under a different line of business,” read Treñas’ executive order.
He issued the executive order following the ongoing investigation by the Iloilo City Council into the proliferation of undocumented immigrants, particularly the reported unregulated activities of Chinese-led POGOs in the city.
The council, convening as a Committee of the Whole, is investigating “in aid of legislation” on the reported illegal activities of foreign nationals in the city.
These supposed illicit activities include unregulated gambling, human trafficking, and other similar illegal activities linked to Chinese-operated POGOs.
The probe was an offshoot of the reports received by local legislators that these undocumented aliens are even involved in various illegal activities in the metropolis.
The city councilors said they received reports that in some posh subdivisions, most of the occupants are Chinese or foreigners.
According to Congresswoman Baronda, Chinese nationals reportedly purchased houses worth between P30 million to P50 million and owned luxury vehicles.
The lawmaker appealed to Remulla to instruct his men at the NBI and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to determine whether or not these individuals are engaged in illegal activities.
“The Filipino people are worried about the so-called Chinese ‘sleeper agents’ given the fact that your agency…has verified that Mayor Alice Guo and a Chinese national have the same fingerprints. We want to ensure that our people are safe and that our national security is protected,” said Baronda.
In his executive order, Mayor Treñas emphasized the enhanced measures aligned with the city’s mandate to promote the general welfare of its people, improve public morals, maintain peace and order, and preserve peace and order of its populace.
“In line with this, the city will not allow within its jurisdiction any activities which expose its inhabitants to human trafficking, illegal gambling, and other activities detrimental to peace, order, and general welfare. Thus, it is the declared policy of the city to denounce any illegal POGOs, and their activities within the city,” the EO read.
It added that the POGO industry has been associated with corruption and other crimes such as money laundering, and other illicit activities that are detrimental to the welfare of the communities and associated with possible infringement of national security.
In his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 22, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced the total ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators.
“Effective today, all POGOs are banned. I hereby instruct Pagcor (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) to wind down and cease the operations of POGOs by the end of the year,” he said.
The President said he would task the labor department to find jobs for countrymen displaced by his tall order.
“Disguising as legitimate entities, their operations have ventured into elicit areas farthest from gaming such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder,” Marcos stressed./PN
