Senate probe sought into ‘human trafficking, cyber fraud’ ops in Clark

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Grace Poe filed a resolution Monday seeking a Senate investigation into the alleged human trafficking and fraud operations of a company based in the Clark Freeport Zone.

"We need to uncover the true scale and roots of human trafficking in the country. This is an insidious crime that must stop," Poe, chairperson of the Senate public services panel, said.

Poe filed Senate Resolution 595 after authorities raided Colorful and Leap Group Company at Clark Sun Valley Hub where 1,162 people, mostly foreign nationals, were rescued from an alleged cyber-fraud operation.

The Philippine National Police said 423 of those rescued were Vietnamese, 307 were Chinese, 173 were Indonesian, 40 were Nepalese, 27 were Malaysian, 12 were Burmese, six were Thai, two were Taiwanese and one was a Hongkonger.

The PNP also said that 172 of those rescued were Filipinos.

"There is an urgent need to determine the supposed existence and cease the operations of these 'scam hubs' in the country for the protection of our citizens and foreign nationals that are being victimized by this kind of human trafficking scheme," Poe said.

She added that the Bureau of Immigration must explain the presence of the foreign workers and show what kind of visas they hold.

"Our inquiry sends the message to traffickers that this crime won't be tolerated and will be dealt with the full force of the law," she said.

She stressed that there is a need for other law enforcement agencies such as the PNP Bureau of Investigation, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission and the Inter-Agency Council on Anti- Trafficking to intensify their operations against human trafficking of foreign nationals into the country.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros also expected “all agencies to be at full throttle to end the massive scamming operations that put our Filipinos and fellow Asians in danger.”

“If these scam networks are using (Philippine offshore gaming operations) as a legal cover, we also need to blow the lid off that. We cannot tolerate such abuses and twisting of the law,” Hontiveros said. — Xave Gregorio