At least 38 undocumented Chinese nationals in Moalboal town, southern Cebu Province are placed under investigation by personnel of Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 for operations that resemble POGO.
The Chinese nationals were spotted living in a resort in Barangay Saavedra, about seven kilometers from the town center.
Presence of the 38 Chinese nationals was confirmed in a joint inspection of the Office of the Building Official of the Local Government Unit of Moalboal, the Municipal Peace and Order Council with the Moalboal Police, and the Bureau of Fire Protection for fire safety in a resort in Sitio Calingking, Barangay Saavedra at about 4 p.m. on Wednesday, October 9, 2024.
The authorities went to talk to the Chinese-looking individuals. However, no one among them could speak in English. The Chinese nationals also failed to present pertinent documents such as their passports.
"They have exclusively rented this resort actually dili gyud siya matawag nato nga high-end resort sa gawas mura og dili magduda or magsuspect nga naay mga unusual activities sa sulod. Kini nga resort is located 7 (seven) kilometers more or less from the highway so we think that this was purposely chosen para ma-avoid ang detection,” according to Police Lt. Col. Gerard Ace Pelare, PRO 7 spokesperson.
Moalboal Mayor Inocentes Cabaron said that based on a raid conducted against a POGO hub in Lapu-Lapu City in September 2024, he issued an executive order directing barangay captains to monitor tightly suspicious activities in their respective areas, specially that the municipality is a major international tourist destination where foreign nationals converge.
“Pirmero ana dunay nag-info namo nga ang kanang Happy Bear (resort) nag-apply og high-speed nga Internet (Wi-Fi), mao man nay usa sa mga requirements, di ba? (POGO-like events), maong ga-meeting mi together with the different barangay captains but before ana nag-issue na ko (og) executive order nga kinahanglan mostrictly monitor ang mga barangay captains sa presence of any POGO hub-like sa ilang area,” the mayor added.
Pelare disclosed that the inspection led to the confiscation of at least 34 sets of computers, four laptop units, and about 200 cellphones.
Based on accounts of residents near the said resort, the presence of Chinese-looking foreigners is observed for three weeks already.
The foreigners have arrived in batches, a resident named “Teddy” said.
The residents also noticed that the foreigners are noisy by the nighttime, but quiet at daytime.
“Mga tulo ka semana na sila diha, abi ko gamay ra sila daghan man diay na. Magabii gud saba ba,” a resident said.
Police are probing on any similarity in the activities of the Chinese nationals in Moalboal to that of their compatriots involved in the Lapu-lapu City POGO hub.
“That is why we are conducting thorough investigation, this is what we call indicators but we cannot assert with certainty declare to tell you that mao na ning gitawag nato nga POGO but we will be conducting thorough investigation, but these are indicators daghang cellphones, daghang computer sets, the foreigners are undocumented, meaning to say wala sila'y mga passport,” Pelare further said.
Following the inspection, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has coordinated with the Bureau of Immigration, Department of Justice, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and the Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit 7.
“They are all now conducting an extensive investigation para atong makita unsay possible violations nga nacommit aning nag-organize or nagrent because ang atong na-obserbaran kining ilang gistay-han is a resort, it’s an isolated resort in Barangay Saavedra, Moalboal. Mao ni result sa inspection nila, then karon ang atong ginabuhat is we are conducting a thorough investigation," Pelare added.
