DOJ says there's possible resurgence of scam hubs

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Justice Undersecretary Nicky Ty on Thursday said there may be a resurgence of small-scale scam hub operations in the Philippines following the arrest and rescue of several individuals in various raids.

In early October, authorities rescued more than 230 scam hub workers in Zamboanga Sibugay.

“It’s possible that there is a resurgence, but nevertheless, compared to before mas maliit talaga, not just in the scale of operations but also on the composition of the foreign nationals who are rescued or found within these scam hubs,” Ty, the Undersecretary-in-Charge of IACAT, said at a press briefing.

Ty added that most of the individuals rescued before were mostly Chinese, along with some Vietnamese, Indonesian, Myanmar, Nepalese, and African.

“Ngayon, it’s really mostly Chinese ‘yung mga nahanap natin,” he said.

(Now, we’re finding that it’s really mostly Chinese.)

When asked what could be the reason for this, Ty cited the visa-free arrangement for Chinese nationals, among other reasons.

“Another reason, although nakita ito, na identify ito from the ground, na some Chinese individuals who were located in the scam hubs actually entered the Philippines using the visa-free arrangement. And some of them are actually overstaying,” he said.

(Another reason, although this was seen and identified on the ground, is that some Chinese individuals who were located in the scam hubs actually entered the Philippines using the visa-free arrangement. And some of them are actually overstaying.)

Ty said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is still collecting information.

“Hindi natin maitatanggi, ano, na ‘yang isang privilege na binigay natin sa mga Chinese tourists napagsamantalahan sa problema na ito,” he added.

(We cannot deny that this privilege we granted to Chinese tourists has been exploited in this problem.)

He said the IACAT and DOJ has yet to give its recommendation regarding the visa-free arrangement.

The Philippines retained its Tier 1 ranking in the US State Department’s 2026 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. — RSJ, GMA News