NBI chief urges Alice Guo to surrender to the Senate

THE NATIONAL Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Tuesday urged suspended Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo to consider surrendering and give her side for the pending charges against her before the Senate and the courts.

"(Kung)Nakikinig si Mayor Alice, wala naman problema na hindi na-solve. Pwede siyang makipag-usap, sumuko siya sa Senate, umattend siya ng hearing. Lahat 'yan maayos, maganda siyang magpaliwanag (If Mayor Alice is listening, no problem has no solution. She can talk and surrender to the senate, attend hearings. Everything can be resolved, she is good at explaining)," NBI Director Jaime Santiago told reporters.

"Remember wala pang (there are no) charges (yet) against her. What we have is a Senate warrant because of her non-attendance, contempt. So, kung ako si Mayor Alice, makipag-ugnayan ka sa Senate nang matapos na itong usapin na ito. Sana ito ngayon sa pakiusap ko, naririnig ni Mayor Alice, hindi sya madedehado pag sa kin sya sumuko (If I were her, coordinate with the Senate to end this. If Mayor Alice is listening, she would not be put at a disadvantage if she surrenders to me), to the NBI,” he added.

7 Chinese nabbed for credit card fraud

Meanwhile, the NBI Cybercrime Division (NBI-CCD), announced that it has apprehended seven Chinese nationals in Parañaque and Quezon City, for credit card fraud and bribing the operatives for their release.

Santiago said that individuals have filed complaints in connection with scams known as vishing, smishing, phishing, click-baiting, pretexting, whaling, and the like, which resulted in unauthorized or illegal access and eventual utilization of their credit card credentials without their knowledge.

An entrapment operation on July 27, 2024, in Paranaque City resulted in the arrest of two Chinese nationals identified as Sun Jie and Lee Ching Ho.

According to the NBI, Sun Jie tried to bribe the operatives several times and offered PHP1.5 million in exchange for their release and termination of the criminal charges against them. The suspect further said that his associates were willing to raise the amount and bring it personally if they would be released.

Operatives undertook a second entrapment operation for the bribery attempt after associates of the individuals agreed that the exchange would take place at the parking lot of NBI Main Office in Quezon City.

Two vehicles arrived for the exchange, and their occupants, all Chinese nationals, were arrested. Seized from them were three handguns and a military-grade smoke-grenade.

Sun Jie and Lee Ching Ho were charged with violations of Section 3(s) of RA No. 11449 (Access Devices Regulation Act) and Article 212 of the Revised Penal Code (Corruption of Public Officials), while Jenny Pan, Zhao Zheng, Dong Jianhua, Yuan Bien and Shao Wen Hu were charged with Article 212 of the Revised Penal Code and RA No. 10591 (Comprehensive Firearm and Ammunition Act). (Benjamin Pulta)