Police authorities on Saturday raided seven premises of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) center in Las Piñas City where over 2,700 Filipinos and foreigners suspected of being victims of human trafficking were rescued last week.
At least 299 operatives of the Anti-Cybercrime Group and the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) investigated seven premises of Xinhuang Network Technologies along Alabang-Zapote Road in Barangay Almanza Uno, armed with two search warrants and five warrants to search and seize computer data.
About 687 Chinese, 186 Vietnamese, 140 Indonesians, 135 Malaysians, 83 Thais, 18 Taiwanese, eight Nigerians, five Singaporeans, eight Burmese, two Yemenis, two Pakistanis, two Chad citizens, one Ivorian, one Tunisian, one Arab, one Indian, one Somali, one Sudanese, one Cameroonian national, and one Iranian were rescued last week.
After being processed, their Filipino counterparts were released.
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief spokesperson Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan said the reason for the search is to obtain personal information on the remaining 1,284 foreigners who were among those rescued and are still on the property.
He said the Las Piñas court issued the warrants after conducting a personal search of the complainants and witnesses.
Ananias Christian Vargas of Vargas Law, who represents Xinchuang, had warned that the company would pursue criminal, administrative, and civil actions against the PNP if those rescued were not allowed to leave the property.
Vargas said that police officers questioned the foreigners without the assistance of a lawyer and physically mistreated eight of them.
In reaction to the charges, Maranan stated that the PNP had established a human rights issues unit to ensure that the rights of the rescued victims were honored.
