HOMEOWNERS of Multinational Village in Parañaque City heaved a sigh of relief as they felt safer and vindicated with the arrest of several Chinese nationals residing in their exclusive subdivision.
A Manila Standard expose blew the lid off the alleged “suspicious presence” of a large group of Chinese nationals staying at the Multinational Village.
The legitimate residents said they felt more secured after the police rounded up the unwanted aliens suspected of involvement in human trafficking and gambling-related cybercrimes.
The homeowners deplored that following the Standard’s April 2 exposé, Southern Police District officials, politicians, and some purported community leaders in their subdivision branded their revelation as “fake news.”
However, any doubts about the dicey foreign presence in the neighborhood was put to rest on Thursday after the police raided a rented-out residence on 18 Teheran Street resulting in the arrest of 10 Chinese nationals.
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) spearheaded the raid in collaboration with the Philippine National Police-National Capital Region’s (PNP-NCR) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group’s (CIDG).
PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco said the Chinese suspects were taken into custody on charges they violated the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (RA 9208), Alien Registration Act (RA 562), and Cybercrime Prevention Act (RA 10175).
“Though unfortunate as it may seem to have these activities in our community… it made us feel vindicated as we were accused of being fake news bearers, threatening national security and alarming everyone with our statements. We never allowed these accusations and criticisms to dampen our spirit. Now, we are very thankful that the government somehow responded to our plea for help,” said Geraldine Natividad, spokesperson of the Multinational Village Homeowners’ Association Inc.
She described the illegal activities uncovered this week as “just the tip of the iceberg,” and appealed to law enforcement agencies to dig deeper into the activities of Chinese nationals currently residing in Multinational Village in huge numbers.
Meanwhile, Janet Tayag-Ong, MVHA’s former chief operations officer, said “something not good is really happening inside our village.”
“We hope all the coddlers of these lawless elements should think twice. We pray that the government will intensify further their activities until we achieve the peace and security we residents deserve,” she added.
Natividad and Ong pointed out that various illegal activities involving their foreign neighbors were allowed to fester over a span of around five years because they had protectors within the community and in the government.
Editor’s Note: The previous edition of this article indicated the location where the 10 Chinese nationals were arrested at Olives Street. It was supposed to be at 18 Teheran Street. The necessary correction has been made.
