Senate probe on trafficking, cyber fraud in Pampanga sought

Senator Grace Poe filed Senate Resolution No. 595 on Monday following police operatives’ rescue of at least 1,090 alleged victims of human trafficking, including foreigners, last week. (File Photo: Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate PRIB via Senate of the Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA – The Senate aims to uncover the “true scale and roots of human trafficking” as it seeks to investigate the alleged human trafficking and cyber fraud operations at Clark Sun Valley Hub Corporation in Mabalacat City, Pampanga.

Senator Grace Poe filed Senate Resolution No. 595 on Monday following police operatives’ rescue of at least 1,090 alleged victims of human trafficking, including foreigners, last week.

She said the inquiry will alert traffickers that they will be dealt with the full force of the law.

The victims were allegedly forced to work for a fraudulent cyber-enabled industry.

“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 in a statement.

She urged the Bureau of Immigration to explain the presence of the foreign workers and reveal what kind of visas they hold.

Poe also called for other law enforcement agencies. such as the Philippine National Police (PNP), National Bureau of Investigation, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, and Inter-Agency Council on Anti-Trafficking to intensify the government campaign against human trafficking of foreign nationals into the country.

The lawmaker recalled the recent hearing of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality which revealed the existence of “scam hubs” in the Philippines that engage in cyber fraud operations and traffic foreign workers into the country.

The proceedings bared that the scam hubs and the operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators in the country have some similarities and could be “simply just one operation that’s happening underneath many operations.”

After the successful operation, PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. said they will continue to work closely with other agencies to ensure that those who engage in such heinous crimes are held accountable.

“We must all unite in this fight against human trafficking and help put an end to this inhumane practice,” Acorda said.