Philippine senator says China must do more to combat cybercrime gangs

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — China should do more to crack down on illegal online gambling and scam call centers run by…

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — China should do more to crack down on illegal online gambling and scam call centers run by Chinese criminal syndicates in Southeast Asian countries, often using forced labor, a Philippine senator leading an investigation into the centers said Friday.

According to the UN Human Rights Office, such gangs have forced hundreds of thousands of people into online scams, including fake romance scams, false investment proposals and illegal gambling.

Senator Risa Hontiveros also called for greater international cooperation to end cybercrime. She said the gangs undermine the rule of law and could provide a platform for espionage activities, though she acknowledged there is no clear evidence linking the gambling centers to Chinese surveillance operations.

According to Hontiveros, a number of Chinese gambling complexes closed by Philippine authorities were located near a Philippine air base north of Manila where U.S. troops have been allowed to operate, and near a residential area where U.S. diplomats and military officials live.

China has expressed concern about increased US military deployments in Asia, including in the Philippines, a longtime ally of Washington.

There are an estimated 400-plus Chinese-run online gambling companies in the Philippines, employing tens of thousands of Chinese and Southeast Asian nationals, many of whom entered the country illegally, according to Philippine officials.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in July ordered a ban on online gambling activities, saying they have made a mockery of Philippine law and have been guilty of crimes such as financial fraud, human trafficking, torture, kidnapping and murder.

China has banned gambling, but most of the customers of the online syndicates operating in the Philippines are citizens of mainland China, who ignore their government’s ban, Hontiveros said.

“China is not doing enough, given its impressive powers that it does not hesitate to use and demonstrate on so many fronts,” Hontiveros said.

“We would all benefit from greater regional and international cooperation, for example by making social media companies more accountable for the use and abuse of their products and services, their platforms, for these malicious operations,” Hontiveros told foreign news correspondents at a briefing.

There was no immediate response from Chinese officials in Manila or Beijing.

However, the Chinese government has said it has cooperated with Philippine authorities in busting online gambling and scam operations run by Chinese syndicates in the Philippines and in rescuing large numbers of Chinese and other Southeast Asian nationals who were illegally recruited and forced to run illegal operations and scams.

According to Hontiveros, lucrative online gambling companies targeting Chinese citizens are also flourishing in Southeast Asian countries with ties to Beijing, including Cambodia and Myanmar.

According to officials, the online gambling industry in the Philippines has flourished largely due to corruption in government regulators and large bribes to government officials.

The mayor of a town in Tarlac province, north of Manila, has been fired by authorities after she was linked to an illegal online gambling complex with dozens of buildings.

Former mayor Alice Guo is also accused of forging Filipino citizenship to run for public office in 2022.

Guo fled the Philippines after the Senate committee headed by Hontiveros arrested her for not attending public hearings. Two weeks ago, she was arrested in Indonesia and deported to Manila.

Guo, who remains in custody, denies any wrongdoing.