The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) raided an office in Makati suspected of being a hub for multiple online lending applications accused of harassing debtors.
Authorities acted on numerous complaints from borrowers who suffered extreme harassment from debt collectors, pushing some into depression and even suicide. “Many have attempted to take their own lives.
Many have also died by suicide. Their lives were ruined, and they fell into depression (Marami na pong nagtangkang magpakamatay. Marami na rin pong nagpakamatay. Nasira yung buhay, nagkaroon ng depression),” said NBI-OTCD Agent-on-Case Attorney Ric Espino.
The lending apps allegedly approve loans quickly but impose excessively high interest rates. PAOCC Executive Director Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz stated that these apps require loan applicants to grant access to their phone contacts and photo gallery.
Borrowers unable to repay are offered new loans by other lending apps, trapping them in a cycle of mounting debt.
Around 100 individuals were arrested during the raid. Agents from the PAOCC and NBI, armed with assault rifles, surrounded two offices of a lending agency and took into custody employees suspected of managing the lending app operations.
The suspects allegedly targeted victims via TikTok and other social media platforms, offering collateral-free loans of up to PHP 25,000 (US$428).
Borrowers were charged a staggering 35 percent weekly interest, and those who defaulted faced harassment, humiliation, and threats of having their personal information exposed online. Some victims even received coffins and funeral wreaths as intimidation tactics.
Authorities identified the raided company as Wewill Tech Corp, which reportedly required victims to provide personal information and family photographs later used for threats.
None of the lending app owners were arrested, but employees are set to face multiple charges, including harassment and grave threats. Investigators are verifying the nationality of the company’s owners, as past similar operations were linked to Chinese nationals.
Authorities are also investigating possible connections between the lending app companies and Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs). “There is a possibility that former POGO operators have shifted to this kind of scamming.
We have previously arrested individuals running similar operations, and they were Chinese nationals (May possibility na yung mga dating nag-ooperate ng POGO ay nag-switch na sa ganitong scamming. May mga nahuli na kasi tayo before na ang nagpapatakbo ay mga Chinese national),” Cruz stated.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Southeast Asia has become “ground zero” for global scamming operations, many linked to Chinese-origin crime syndicates.
