3 Chinese linked to Porac Pogo found hiding in Fontana villa

GATHERING EVIDENCE Personnel of the PAOCC and the CIDG inspect one of the 36 buildings inside the sprawling 10-hectare compound in Bamban, Tarlac, where the Philippine offshore gaming operator Zun Yuan Technology Inc. operates. Authorities raided the firm on March 13 due to alleged human trafficking and serious illegal detention involving over 800 workers, mostly foreigners. —Jun A. Malig

MABALACAT, PAMPANGA, Philippines — Clark Development Corp. (CDC) public safety department and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) have arrested three Chinese nationals as search continued for two others accused of human trafficking at Fontana Leisure Park, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said on Saturday.

PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio told the Inquirer by phone that the Chinese nationals—two males and one female—were found late Friday following the previous night’s search for Lyu Dong, also known as Bao, or Boga, and Da Wei, alias “David.” Both men, who are at large, are accused of violating the antitrafficking in persons law.

READ: Chinese who is one of ‘big bosses’ of raided Pogo in Porac arrested

The CDC and the BI staff combed through the five villas that were raided inside Fontana and found them in one on Friday night, Casio said.

The immigration bureau identified the two men as Chen Qianfang and Huang Zaicheng and the woman as Huang Shuzhen.

READ: Gov’t orders freezing of Porac Pogo assets

Casio said they worked for the Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) Zun Yuan Technology Inc. in Bamban, Tarlac, which was raided by the authorities in March this year.

Connected to ‘big boss’

Chen acted as the manager of the staff of the Zun Yuan “boss” while the two others were his personal aides, Casio said.

He said the three are suspected to be directly connected to Bamban Pogo “big boss” Huang Ziyang, who is at large.

Casio said the three were taken to the PAOCC detention facility in Pasay City on Saturday morning.

CDC has threatened to shut down the sprawling Fontana estate inside the former US air base following Thursday night’s search for the two human trafficking suspects.

“Your failure to monitor the conduct of illegal activities, such as human trafficking and related offenses, is despicable,” CDC president and chief executive officer Agnes Devanadera said in a letter on Friday to Simon Wu, the general manager of Fontana Development Corp. (FDC) and Fontana Resort and Country Club Inc. (FRCCI).

She said that in “previous communications,” CDC reminded Wu that his companies’ failure to comply with Philippine laws and regulations would “merit a suspension and/or termination” of their lease contract.

Simon Wu is the western name of Shuiqing Wu, according to a document from FRCCI in 2022. Wu was 43 years old then. He graduated from the Beijing Economic and Technological Research Institution in 1999 and had worked as food and beverage director for several hotels in China, including the Hengca Hotel Group, Star River Hotel and Jindu Garden Hotel.

PAOCC, supported by the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and other law enforcers, swooped down on five posh villas in Fontana to implement a search warrant issued by a Malolos City court.

Awaiting permission

The two men were not found, but the police recovered 14 safety vaults from the villas. The authorities are awaiting permission to open the vaults.

The police action followed information that several Chinese nationals escaped from the raid early this month on Lucky South 99 Corp. Pogo compound in Pampanga’s Porac town.

A Chinese national identified as Lim Fukun was found in one of the villas during Thursday’s search. He underwent a medical checkup before he was turned over to PAOCC. He was later tagged as a “possible link” between Lucky South 99 and the Pogo company in Bamban that implicated its mayor, Alice Guo.

Guo has been suspended by the Ombudsman and is facing a qualified human trafficking complaint along with 13 other people.

Devanadera, who had served as solicitor general and as acting justice secretary, ordered Wu to submit within 24 hours a written explanation on why his companies’ lease contract should not be revoked or terminated following a series of alleged “contractual breaches,” pointing to “similar incidents” in the past.

On Dec. 5, 2016, CDC issued a cease-and-desist order against Fontana in connection with a Department of Justice investigation of the alleged operation of an illegal online casino. But CDC lifted the closure order after 17 days.

On May 19, 2020, authorities found an unauthorized “hospital” in one of Fontana’s villas where Chinese COVID-19 patients were allegedly being held and treated.

CDC again issued a cease-and-desist order against Fontana and suspended its certificates of registration and tax exemption the next day. But after only 10 days, the suspensions were lifted, and no case was filed against Fontana.

Devanadera said CDC would be inspecting the property and operations of FDC and FRCCI to ensure that no human trafficking and related crimes were being committed in Fontana. CDC also would be deploying its own security patrols around the estate.

In addition, it ordered the two companies to report within 24 hours the movement of their personnel, vehicles and “movables” over the past six months.

Devanadera said the companies’ failure to comply with the orders would result in a “severe penalty.”

As of Saturday evening, CDC officials were unavailable to respond to the Inquirer’s request for information on whether Wu had replied to the CDC chief.