INQUIRER.net/Faith Argosino
MANILA, Philippines — Three Chinese kidnapping suspects, supposed to be involved in gambling, were repatriated to China over the weekend, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said.
The embassy said law enforcement authorities from China conducted the operation with their counterparts in the Philippines on Saturday, which demonstrated the “strong determination” of the two nations to combat kidnapping and other crimes related to offshore gambling.
The embassy stressed Chinese law bans any form of gambling, be it online or cross-border gambling by Chinese nationals as well as running casinos outside China to solicit Chinese nationals.
READ: Cops arrest 2 men for alleged kidnapping of a Chinese in Pasay City
“The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines will continue to strengthen practical law enforcement cooperation with the Philippine side, support the latter in addressing the root cause of crimes related to offshore gambling, and join hands to crackdown kidnapping and other crimes,” it said.
Earlier this month, Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian met with Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, chair of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), at Malacañang to discuss cooperation against transnational crimes.
PAOCC Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said the two officials agreed to help each other and strengthen “intelligence sharing and joint operations” involving Philippine offshore gambling operators (Pogos).
The Chinese envoy said Beijing will be “proactive” in helping the Philippines in its fight against illegal Pogo operations.
“The strengthened cooperation between the two countries sends a clear message to criminal syndicates operating across borders that their malicious activities will not be tolerated nor allowed to undermine the security and stability of these nations,” the PAOCC said in a statement.
Earlier in June, the Chinese Embassy appealed to the Philippine government to ban the Pogo industry as soon as possible, saying it had become a “social ill” that bred serious crimes like kidnapping, human trafficking and murder.
After the recent raids by local authorities of Pogo centers in Tarlac and Pampanga that yielded hundreds of suspected trafficking victims, the embassy said a “vast majority” of Chinese nationals involved in these cases were “victims” of the Pogo industry.