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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider PNP not treating Chinese POGO-related crimes as 'isolated cases'

PNP not treating Chinese POGO-related crimes as 'isolated cases'

Published Mar 5, 2020 12:00 am
By Hannah Torregoza The Philippine National Police (PNP) is not treating the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations or POGO-related criminal activities as “isolated cases,” compared to what the Chinese embassy is doing. PNP Deputy Chief for Operations Guillermo Eleazar (PHOTO FROM PIO NCRPO / FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN) PNP Deputy Chief for Operations Guillermo Eleazar (PHOTO FROM PIO NCRPO / FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN) PNP Deputy Chief for Operations Guillermo Eleazar said the national police is doing its best to solve all the crimes involving Chinese nationals, especially those that are casino-related. Eleazar, in the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on POGO-related crimes, confirmed that the Philippines has recorded 63 casino-related kidnapping incidents from 2017 to 2019. According to Eleazar, the number of casino-related kidnapping incidents were 17 in 2017, 16 in 2018, and rose to 38 in 2019. Two cases have been recorded so far in 2020, bringing the total number of casino-related cases from 2017 to 2020 to 73. The total number of victims in casino-related kidnappings from 2017 to 2020 is now 80, while the number of arrested suspects from the four-year period is now at 142. Eleazar said the Chinese embassy may consider the two kidnapping cases for 2020 as isolated cases, but the PNP is not taking any chances. “For us, however, that’s why we are also (trying to) obtain (records of) the other crimes that were committed here in relation to casino-related POGO. Because well, that’s still considered a crime, whether or not they consider it small or many, still those are crimes,” Eleazar told reporters in an interview after the Senate hearing. “And the spike of crimes is still directly related to the increasing number of Chinese nationals coming here,” Eleazar said. “Definitely, the increase in crime is directly dependent to the number of Chinese nationals that have arrived here.” The Chinese embassy earlier released a statement saying the recent reports of crimes allegedly committed by their nationals in the Philippines are “just isolated incidents” and do not reflect the country’s relationship with China. “Individual illegal and criminal cases involving Chinese citizens are only isolated incidents and cannot represent the whole picture of China-Philippines relations,” the embassy said in a statement. "The China-Philippines relations have maintained a good momentum of development, which serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples," the embassy further said, adding that the Chinese government is already working with Philippine officials to combat transnational crimes. Eleazar confirmed that the Chinese authorities are closely coordinating with them on the issue. “It is a cause of concern for all of us, because just recently we have witnessed the increase in the number of prostitution dens,” he said. “Precisely, because, there are those business-minded (Chinese nationals) who ventured into catering the other needs of fellow Chinese—not just restaurants and other recreational concerns, but also prostitution. They are bringing in ‘entertainers’ from abroad,” he pointed out. In the hearing, Eleazar admitted to Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon that the PNP was also baffled by the rise of POGO-related crimes, including the increasing incidents of multi-national prostitution. “We don’t have this kind of operations before, but on the past three or two years—personally being the regional director of NCRPO—I personally supervised the operations or raid of establishments involved in this kind of illegal activities,” he told the Senate blue ribbon panel.  
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