Six (6) undocumented Chinese nationals were arrested on December 12, 2024, during a joint operation by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) at Trillo Bay Villas.
SBMA officials reported that BI personnel, supported by SBMA operatives, executed mission orders to apprehend the suspects at Kim’s Apartment, a rented unit within the villa complex.
The six individuals, identified as Yongfeng Huang, Guo Jun, Hong Xiaojun, Bai Shiping, Guo Shiquan, and Gan Ning, were detained for violating Rule 9, Section 1 of SBM-2015-010, which pertains to the possession of proper documentation. Among them, only Huang was able to present a passport.
The suspects were transferred to the BI head office in Intramuros, Manila, where they are being held while their cases are processed. BI officials emphasized that the suspects were informed of their rights under RA7438 “in a language they could fully understand and in a manner they could fully comprehend.”
Atty. Melvin Varias, Officer-in-Charge of the Office of the Deputy Administrator for Legal Affairs and Manager of the SBMA Labor Department, revealed that the arrested individuals were former employees of TeleEmpire Incorporated, an accredited back-office solutions provider in Subic Bay Freeport. The six were part of a larger group of 57 Chinese nationals documented during their employment with the company.
Following the closure of TeleEmpire, six employees returned to China, but 51 others went unaccounted for. In a prior operation, 20 of these individuals were apprehended at a residence in Kalayaan, which was allegedly used as an illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) facility. The six recently arrested suspects were also part of the unaccounted group.
Atty. Varias stated that the SBMA and the BI are closely collaborating to ensure all undocumented Chinese nationals previously employed by TeleEmpire are properly documented and accounted for.
