PAOCC files cases vs 35 individuals in Makati online ‘lending scam’

MANILA, Philippines — Cases have been filed against 35 of the 252 individuals arrested at the office of an online lending company during a police raid in Makati City on Oct. 20, according to the Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC). 

The 35 are supervisors at the Golden Koi Lending Co. Inc., the PAOCC executive director, Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz, said on Tuesday. The company has been accused of harassing clients who could not pay their debts on time.

The cases filed at the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office were for violations of the Cybercrime Prevention Act as the firm operated online, Cruz said.

The police raid was conducted on the lending company ni Barangay San Lorenzo in Makati. Vlogger Rendon Labrador posted a Facebook Live of the operation, which showed the faces of the suspects. This drew the ire of relatives of company employees over the weekend. 

Cruz explained that the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) did not inform officials that Labador and other media members would be present during the raid. 

“I was shocked when I watched it on social media because we did not talk about that during our meeting before the actual operations. We are cautious even when bringing along media people during operations. We are careful to ensure that the rights of both the complainant and those arrested would be protected,” Cruz said in Filipino.

On Monday, the PNP said it had started looking into the possible violations committed by Labador under a memorandum circular on its revised media relations policy for live-streaming police operations. 

Under the circular, the PNP chief, General Benjamin Acorda Jr. explained that media personnel could only cover the physical inventory of evidence and not join operatives during actual operations. 

Meanwhile, the chief of the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management director, Major General Eric Noble, issued a memorandum asking for an explanation of the incident from the PNP-ACG spokesperson, Lieutenant Michelle Sambino.

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