Dozens of Chinese and Filipinos were arrested after the Philippine National Police (PNP) launched an operation against illegal online gambling in Cagayan province on Tuesday night.
According to a DZRH report this morning, the suspects were arrested at a hotel located in Sta. Ana, Cagayan.
Among those arrested were 73 Chinese nationals and three Filipinos at the Villa Saturnina Hotel and Resort in Sitio Rafat, Rapuli.
Media reports identified the Filipinos as Erwin Digol, Alexis Isaac Ferro, and Mylene Tuazon; all were hotel employees.
Unfortunately, Frank Yu, who is known as the manager and “brain” of the operations, escaped from the hands of the police.
Among those seized by the police were 103 laptops and desktop computers, which the suspects allegedly used in illegal operations.
Cagayan province is currently under the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) due to the continuing spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Philippines while Metro Manila is under the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).
Malacañang said in April that Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), where many Chinese nationals work, and various forms of gambling in areas under the general community quarantine (GCQ), were still banned.
However, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) now allows “partial operations” of such gambling operations, even under strict enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) as it is recognized as business process outsourcing ( BPO).
“All BPOs are allowed to operate on limited capacities, so POGOs will be allowed to maintain a skeletal workforce of 30 percent in areas under ECQ,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in May 2020.
Also read: 2 Chinese nationals arrested in Quezon City drug buy-bust
Over 600 pigs infected with ASF culled
More than 600 domestic pigs within a 500-meter radius from ground zero were depopulated after getting infected with African Swine Fever (ASF) in Magpet town, North Cotabato.
According to Dr. Rufino Sorupia, chief of the Provincial Veterinary Office, 638 pigs have been slaughtered in 9 barangays affected by the ASF in the said town. He also said that blood samples are still being taken in nearby areas from ASF infected areas and are being tested to find out if ASF has also affected domestic pigs.
Agriculture Regional Director Arlan Mangelin, on the other hand, said that local government units (LGUs) are now tightening their boundary checkpoints to contain the spread of ASF in their respective areas.