MANILA: Seventeen Chinese nationals who were arrested in a suspected cyber scam den in Iloilo City have pleaded guilty to violation of Republic 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. In a statement on Thursday, Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) Executive Director Alexander Ramos said these individuals made the plea bargain in exchange for a lower sentence following their arrest in a joint operation with the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Iloilo City Police in November last year. Ramos said the court would have the final say on whether to approve the plea bargain. He added that the plea bargain would consider the gravity of the crime, the presence of any aggravating or mitigating circumstances, and the willingness of both parties to negotiate. The arrest, he said, was made possible through a 'whole-of-government approach' that proved successful against organized online crimes. The cyber scam den, located in Barangay Lawa-an in Jaro District in Iloilo City, was raided in a joint operation on Nov. 4, 2023 following the approval of a search warrant issued by Iloilo City Regional Trial Court branch 39 after more than a month of surveillance. During the operation, the operatives seized 24 computers, 49 mobile phones, two switch hubs, two routers, four boxes of subscriber identity module (SIM) cards, and various other equipment. Source : Philippines News agency