By Jade C. Zaldivar
Davao City Vice Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte said it would be better for the city to have the 72 Taiwanese nationals suspected of online fraud and money laundering deported.
Duterte last Tuesday said it would be “wiser” to let a Taiwanese court hear the case filed against the foreigners, rather than have the hearings here.
“I-deport na lang na,” Duterte said in an interview.
The vice mayor advised the Davao City Police Office (DCPO), which is handling the investigation along with Taiwan police, to write a summary on the arrest of the multinationals.
“Pagsulat na lang ug summary ug ipa-deport. Unsa may imong ebidensya ana? Sila na lang didto (Taiwan) mag-continue sa investigation ug mangita ug ebidensya,” he said.
Duterte added that he is confident Taiwan authorities “will be firm” against the suspects.
“Dako man kaya na sila ug atraso sa ila? Sila na lang ana,” he said.
The 72 Taiwanese nationals, 36 of whom are women, were arrested last April 18 during simultaneous raids at their 24-hour fake call center headquarters in Ladislawa Village, Buhangin, Villa Josefina Village in Matina; and Valgoson’s Building in Talomo.
DCPO chief Sr. Supt. Ronald dela Rosa last April 19 said the Taiwanese police gave them information that the arrested foreigners were a part of some large international syndicate, and that those arrested “answer to kingpins abroad.”
“Malaking sindikato ito, actually komingking pa lang ni sila sa kung unsa gyud sila kadako. Ang ilang mga boss, ang mga kingpin nila, tua sa Mainland China ug Taiwan,” dela Rosa said.
Motion to quash
The motion for reconsideration filed by the suspects was denied by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) early this month. Their counsel, lawyer Israelito Torreon, last May 8 filed a motion to quash to suppress evidence pursuant to Section 14 Rule 126 of the Rules on Criminal Procedure.
Torreon in an 18-page motion said the search warrants served by the police were “general warrants,” noting that they were addressed only to three persons, but a total of 72 persons were arrested.
This, Torreon said, is in violation of Sections 8 and 11 of Rules 126 of the Rules on Criminal Procedure, manifesting that whatever evidence were secured should be declared inadmissible and should be ordered returned to the respondents.
Hearing on the motion to quash began May 11 at the Regional Trial Court.
Modus operandi
The DCPO chief said they were contacted by Taiwanese police early last March, for help to monitor the presence of Taiwanese nationals in the city.
Dela Rosa said the DCPO was briefed by Taiwanese authorities on the modus operandi of the syndicate which is to target their countrymen or those from mainland China.
“They threaten persons online, forcing them to pay their charges. If the victims in mainland China or Taiwan do not pay up, their syndicate members in mainland China or Taiwan will harass them, even through physical means,” he said.
The money involved, dela Rosa, said is in the millions of dollars.
