Fake PAOCC operatives offering to be ‘fixers’ for POGO workers arrested

Authorities arrested two employees of a visa consultancy firm in Intramuros, Manila on Wednesday for posing as Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) operatives and extorting millions of pesos from families of foreign POGO workers.

“Nagpapakilala na mga taga-NBI, Bureau of Immigration, PAOCC at sasabihin nila, kaya nilang palabasin yung mga asawa nila na nakakulong. Tapos sisingilin nila ng amount. Pero ang ginagawa nila actually, ine-estafa lang nila yung pobreng asawa ng mga POGO workers,” PAOCC Executive Director Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz told GMA Integrated News.

(They would identify themselves as being from the NBI, the Bureau of Immigration, PAOCC, and they'd tell the families that they could get their spouses out. They'd charge them. But what they would actually do was swindle the poor spouses of these POGO workers.)

Authorities entrapped the suspects after they asked victims for P250,000 for the delisting of a foreign national from the Bureau of Immigration’s blacklist.

One victim, Era (not her real name) miscarried from immense stress after she was asked for P1.1-million for the release and non-deportation of her fiance. 

Her boyfriend's parents even had to mortgage their family home in China just to make the payment.

She was only able to come up with P900,000.

“Wala pa rin pong nangyari hanggang ngayon. Hindi pa rin nakalabas yung fiance ko,” Era said.

(Nothing has happened to this day. My finace has still not been released.)

“Nag-aalala rin ako sa parents ng fiance ko kasi isang buwan lang binigay sa kanilang palugit doon sa sinangla nilang bahay,” she added.

(I an also worried about my fiance's parents because they were only given a month to pay to get their house back.)

Another victim, Nice (also not her real name), paid P1.1-million for her husband, who was arrested in a raid in Parañaque.

The suspects assured her of her husband’s impending release, as he was under the custody of PAOCC.

However, Nice’s husband was arrested by the Bureau of Immigration.

“Hawak daw ng PAOCC kaya wag daw mag-alala. Syempre, naniwala naman ako,” she said.

(They said he was with the PAOCC so I had nothing to worry about. Of course I believed them.)

Cruz added that the group has been on PAOCC’s radar since last year.

Aside from allegedly promising the release and exclusion from deportation of POGO workers, the group also supposedly acted as fixers to secure documents for foreigners.

“May mga reports na kami natatanggap last year pa, about sino ba yung fixer o sino ba yung conduit na lumalakad ng mga papeles ng mga Chinese, especially those who are working sa mga POGO operations. Lumalakad ng mga passport nila para magkaroon sila ng Philippine passports at magkaroon sila ng birth certificate from PSA,” Cruz said.

(We've been receiving reports since last year of these fixers or conduits who help process papers for Chinese, especially those working in POGOs. They would help them get Philippine passports and birth certificates from the Philippine Statistics Authority.)

Based on PAOCC’s investigation, the group has accomplices in various government agencies.

This is now the subject of their follow-up operations.

“May nakita na kaming pictures. May nakita na kaming videos. Yang mga yan, hindi natin titigilan 'yang mga 'yan. Talagang tutugisin natin,” Cruz added.

(We have seen pictures. We have seen videos. We're not going to stop going after them.)

The arrested will be facing complaints of robbery extortion, usurpation of a person in authority, estafa and grave coercion.

They declined to give statements to media. — BM, GMA Integrated News