‘Visa-free entry likely caused scam hub resurgence’

MANILA, Philippines — The abuse of visa-free entry privileges by some foreigners could have contributed to the apparent resurgence of small-scale scam hubs in parts of the country, according to the Department of Justice.

Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty reported that some of the foreigners, mostly Chinese nationals, apprehended in recent raids on scam hubs, particularly in Zamboanga Sibugay earlier this month, entered the Philippines under a visa-free arrangement.

“We cannot deny that this is a privilege we granted to Chinese tourists and that, to some extent, it has been exploited, contributing to this problem,” Ty said at a media briefing last week, acknowledging that the privilege granted to Chinese tourists may have been exploited and contributed to the problem.

Around 200 foreigners were apprehended during the operations. Ty added that some of the foreigners could have been overstaying.

He also said that Chinese nationals recruited to work in local scam hubs may have been instructed to target fellow Chinese citizens before accepting job offers that brought them to the Philippines.

The Department of Foreign Affairs restored visa-free access for Chinese visitors on Jan. 16, allowing visits of up to 14 days strictly for tourism or business purposes.

The arrangement is subject to review before it expires a year after its implementation.

Asked whether Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) and scam hubs were indeed making a comeback across the country, Ty said it was possible.

However, he maintained that the operations were smaller than those previously uncovered, both in scale and in the number of foreign nationals found in the facilities.

“Remember, before, the composition was very international, mostly Chinese, but there were also many Vietnamese, Indonesians and people from Myanmar, Nepal and Africa. Now, those being found are mostly Chinese,” he said.