In recent days in the Philippines, there has been almost daily news of places being raided.
First, around 8 PM on the 29th, netizens reported that the 11th floor of Century Peak was raided, and other floors were also restricted from exiting.
At the scene, several police cars were gathered under the building. Personnel who arrived at the scene included the Philippine SWAT, Immigration Bureau, and the Philippine National Police (PNP).
It is reported that the incident was triggered by a call from a person on the 23rd floor of the building (the specific reason for the call is not yet known), leading to an emergency response by the police.
A few hours after the inspection ended, around 2 AM on the 30th, the police again surrounded the Century Peak building, making a sudden return! The situation immediately became tense. Earlier, the police had received a call but did not raid, but this operation was clearly for further investigation.
After dispersing the Filipino employees inside the building, only foreign employees were left.
Eventually, the police arrested 56 suspects during the operation, including 35 Chinese, 11 Indonesians, and 10 Malaysians. They were directly taken away by bus.
According to netizens, during this raid, Qiusu Sports was shut down! As a result, many agents were unable to withdraw their funds.
It was thought that being pushed into the "Sunshine Prison" was bad enough, but it turned out there were even unluckier ones!
On the evening of the 29th, in addition to the raid on Century Peak, 17 Chinese people who were "gaming" in apartments were also arrested!
On Tuesday night, the Cybercrime Division of the National Bureau of Investigation entered several apartment units in Barangay Tambo, Parañaque City, under a search warrant, arresting 17 Chinese employees who were "gaming."
It was thought that with the current unstable situation, the Philippine government departments would conduct sudden raids here and there, and the "pushers" would split into small groups, dispersing to various apartments to "game," hoping to be safer.
But they still couldn't avoid being raided!
The arrested "pushers" were panicking, hoping to call their lawyers (in reality, they called their leaders), hoping that someone would bring money to redeem them.
Upon hearing this, the National Bureau of Investigation saw it as a big catch and immediately agreed to the "pushers," preparing to trap them. Sure enough, someone brought a ransom down payment of 510 million PHP. After the National Bureau of Investigation received the money, they caught both the people and the goods!
However, those arrested were just the boss's lackeys, not the real big boss. (It seems the big boss was quite aware of the crisis.)
Even more ruthlessly, the Philippine government publicly announced the names of the 17 arrested "pushers" in the news. They almost wanted to tell the world how these people wanted to corrupt public officials, and how the Philippine public officials firmly refused bribes and steadfastly protected the people's beliefs!
Following the raids on companies and apartments, the Philippine government did not relax. On the evening of the 30th, the Eastfield Center building in Pasay City was subjected to a large-scale inspection by relevant Philippine agencies.
While working, the "pushers" received a message to retreat and hurriedly ran out of the building. Netizens described the atmosphere at the scene as "like fleeing."
On the 31st, all "pushers" were directly given a day off, and they lay flat in their dormitories. The government sent people again that day to conduct searches and take photos.
It is said that the scene was strictly controlled, not even allowing local people or small Filipino nannies to go up. Only personnel related to the fifth-floor white-collar offices and the Chamber of Commerce's temporary offices could freely enter and exit.
On the afternoon of the 31st, PAOCC launched another raid! They raided Central One in Bagac, Bataan. According to news reports, about 900 POGO workers were rescued at the time, including 300 foreigners and 600 Filipinos.
Even though their boss stood up and said that they were a Malaysian company, a BPO company, not involved in fraud. Most of the people in the park were Malaysians, except for those 10 Chinese who were part of the leadership. But the Philippine government still arrested them without hesitation.
Although your company is not a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO), the raid on the company found rows of computers, mobile phones, other small tools, and SIM cards, which are very suspicious!
Moreover, this is with an arrest warrant personally signed by a superior: "There is reason to believe" that the foreign workers at the center are victims of human trafficking."
Data shows that Central One has six buildings and various facilities, with an investment of 600 million pesos, and 95% of the company's 1500 employees are locals.
This BPO company claims to have obtained permits from the local government and the Bataan Freeport Zone. But PAOCC says these are not enough. "It does not have a secondary license issued by PAGCOR."
Meaning: Who let you operate without a PAGCOR license? Even having the local government and Bataan Freeport Zone's permission is not enough!
Anyway, the funds in those computers are likely related to sports betting fraud activities. All employees, regardless of nationality, must undergo an inspection by the Immigration Bureau!
In short, the events of these days have been one thrill after another.
First, Century Peak was raided twice, catching a wave of people sent to Sunshine Prison;
Then the apartment "gamers" were caught, and there was even entrapment law enforcement;
Later, Eastfield Center was sealed, and Qiusu Sports collapsed;
Even companies with BPO licenses were raided without hesitation.
Looking at the scale of these cases, one is bigger than the other. The Philippine officials have also put away their usual ways, showing a very tough attitude in handling these cases!
It's like a storm is coming!
Even the famous building, the RCBC headquarters building (where the AG Group is located), was directly investigated!
In conclusion, I advise all "pushers" not to rashly adopt the "rescue" strategy before things are clear, and to cooperate well first.
It is known that PAGCOR people are waiting for the final administrative order from Xiao Ma. Currently, the gambling licenses issued by free ports and economic zones are still in a "gray area," and PAGCOR will not strike these areas for the time being.
However, it is certain that any POGO license or IgL license issued by any institution will expire on December 31.
