NATIONAL Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago has ordered the dismantling of the agency’s Special Task Force (STF) unit over alleged irregularities during a raid conducted at a resort in Malolos, Bulacan targeting suspected remnants of illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogo).
In a radio interview on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, Santiago said he ordered the removal of all members of the “elite unit,” which was created to conduct investigations and operations on “special cases,” including remnants of Pogos and scam farms.
“Ayun nga po, dahil sa may ni-raid sila na hindi ko rin nagustuhan ang style. Nagreklamo sa akin ang Chinese embassy at ‘yung mga hinuli merong private counsel at [sumulat] din sa akin, kaya sabi ko, para hindi nila ma-tamper whatever evidence, buwagin muna yan,” Santiago said.
“Iniimbestigahan ng internal affairs division at let us see. Meantime, ‘yung mga tao, dinistribute ko sa mga divisions at regional offices para magkaroon ng malayang imbestigasyon,” he added.
(The internal affairs division is conducting an investigation, and let’s see what happens. In the meantime, I’ve reassigned the personnel to different divisions and regional offices to allow for an independent investigation.)
Santiago said the STF raided a resort in Malolos, Bulacan by virtue of a search warrant issued by a court and arrested nine Chinese nationals allegedly involved in Pogo and love scams. Children were among the occupants of the resort during the raid.
However, he said the agents involved appeared to have misled the court by deliberately providing the wrong address.
He said the raided resort was located in Malolos, Bulacan, but the address indicated in the search warrant was “Sta. Rita, Bulacan.”
“Walang jurisdiction ang Malolos court (na nag-issue ng warrant), eh Sta. Rita is in Pampanga... Sa akin, ako, isang dating judge, ako’y dating pulis, nag-o-operate din ako, operative ako, parang sa umpisa at umpisa pa lang, application pa lang ng warrant, parang sinadya na na lokohin pati ‘yung address na alam nila later on ika-quash yan,” said Santiago.
(The Malolos court that issued the warrant had no jurisdiction because Sta. Rita is in Pampanga. Speaking as a former judge, a former police officer, and someone who has operated in the field, it seems that from the very beginning—even during the application for the warrant—it was deliberately meant to mislead. They knew that the address would later lead to the warrant being quashed.)
“Minislead, sorry for the word, pero parang ganun ang nangyari. Minislead nila ang court. Ang court naman, nagbigay ng search warrant na mali naman pala ang address. Galit na ako sa ganyang katiwalian,” he added.
(They misled, sorry for the word, but that’s what it looks like. They misled the court. And the court ended up issuing a search warrant with the wrong address. I’m angry at that kind of corruption.)
Asked if the raid could possibly have been motivated by money, Santiago said, “It is not impossible.”
Overreach?
In an interview, the four minor occupants of the raided resort, along with the mother of one of them, recounted the incident, which happened on the evening of July 14.
Mia, not her real name, 9, a Grade 3 student from China who arrived in the Philippines the day before the raid, said she was reading something on her laptop inside a room at the resort her family had rented when, suddenly, an armed man barged in.
“I was reading inside the room, but suddenly, someone [who] is holding the gun asked me to go out,” she said in Mandarin.
“I feel so scared. He (armed man) brought me to [the] other room without any people then let me stay there,” she added.
Mia’s relative, Ken, not her real name, 13, said he was in another room when an armed man kicked the door open and ordered them to get down on the ground with their hands behind their backs.
He said his father was immediately handcuffed, along with their other adult relatives, and their personal belongings, such as laptops, cellphones, jewelry, and even their passports and other identification documents, were taken.
Mia’s mother, Lily, not her real name, said the armed men spared her—out of all their adult relatives who were arrested—so she could look after the minors.
Lily said the NBI agents cut off the resort’s security cameras.
Based on a document, on July 16, the Malolos court issued a release order for the nine arrested Chinese nationals, which included two students of a posh university in Manila City pursuing their master’s degrees.
However, the nine arrested individuals were turned over by the NBI to the Bureau of Immigration over claims that they were undocumented.
“Siyam ang naaresto. Ang reklamo, mga bata minor. Hindi nila dinala. Iniwan lang ang isang babae para mag-take care dun sa mga minor at ang report, kinuha lahat ng passport at ni-report sa Bureau of Immigration na wala daw mga papeles. Ay sus, Ginoo,” said Santiago.
(Nine people were arrested. The complaint is that there were minors involved, but they weren’t taken. They left just one woman to take care of the minors. And according to the report, they took all the passports and told the Bureau of Immigration that the individuals had no documents. My goodness.)
“Under investigation (ang mga tinanggal na members ng STF), at ‘yung abogado nung nagreklamo, iniimbitahan ko dito bukas. Magkakausap kami. Makipagtulungan sila sa amin. Makipagtulungan din sila sa amin kasi ‘yung allegation vs proof,” he added.
(The dismissed members of the STF are under investigation, and I’ve invited the lawyer of the complainant to come here tomorrow. We’ll talk. They should cooperate with us, because this is a matter of allegation versus proof.)
On July 18, China’s Ministry of Education issued a warning for students planning to pursue education in the Philippines, noting that the security situation in the country has recently become unstable, with a surge in crimes targeting Chinese nationals.
It advised students to carefully assess safety risks and to strengthen their awareness and precautions when considering studying in the Philippines.
Lily said that following the raid, they immediately reported the incident and sought help from the Chinese Embassy in Manila. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)