THE government deported this week a total of 89 unwanted aliens specifically involved in illegal gaming operations and cyber fraud, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) revealed.
The deportees consisted of 77 Vietnamese and 12 South Korean nationals.
The crackdown on illegal foreigners was carried in collaboration with the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Immigration, the Department of Justice, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The mass deportation was part of a broader campaign ordered by President Marcos who earlier directed law enforcers to expedite the removal of all foreigners involved in cyber fraud and unauthorized online gaming operations in the country.
The PAOCC said around 140 individuals are set to be deported in early June, with more to follow suit soon.
“These deportations are part of a focused campaign to disrupt the criminal syndicates at the source,” according to PAOCC Undersecretary Gilberto Cruz who led a delegation to Vietnam to assist with the repatriation and held talks with Vietnamese law enforcement officials.
“We are sending a clear message: the Philippines will no longer be a sanctuary for foreign nationals exploiting the international digital and legal systems,” Cruz said.
In Hanoi, Cruz met with Colonel Le Khac Son, Deputy Director of Vietnam’s Criminal Police Department, to bolster regional cooperation against cybercrime and syndicated criminal networks.
Deportation is only one layer of our operation, Cruz said.
We will be creating a near-regional cohort of intelligence, coordination, and legal associations to assure the syndicates do not move their operations from the Philippines to another jurisdiction, he added.
PAOCC reaffirmed its commitment to national security and public welfare through strengthened
local and international law enforcement cooperation.
The agency said it will continue to identify, apprehend, and expel foreign nationals who violate Philippine laws.
