NCRPO cracks down on romance-scheme estafa

An entrapment operation along Seaside Boulevard, Barangay 76, Pasay City resulted in the arrest of two suspects involved in extorting money under the guise of a traditional courtship early Saturday morning.

The suspects, a 23-year-old female businesswoman and a 29-year-old male businessman, now face formal complaints for estafa under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code and Obstruction of Justice under Presidential Decree No. 1829, respectively.

Records from Sub-Station 10 of the Pasay City Police Station showed that the complainant, a 30-year-old male Chinese national employed at a money-changing establishment, sought police assistance after realizing he was being swindled.

The female suspect had progressively extracted a total of P130,000 under the pretense of securing her parents' formal blessing for their relationship. The manipulation escalated when she demanded he display P200,000 in cash to her parents to prove his financial stability. When a final demand for an additional P10,000 was made at dawn, the victim recognized the deception and coordinated with local authorities.

Police units swiftly organized the entrapment operation using marked currency. Upon the handover of the P10,000 cash payment, law enforcement operatives immediately placed the female suspect under arrest and recovered one cellular phone from her possession. During the apprehension, her male companion attempted to signal and help her flee the scene, prompting his secondary arrest for obstruction of justice.

"Deception dressed as affection is still a crime, and the NCRPO will not let it slip past unpunished. We move as fast against schemes of the heart as we do against schemes of the street," said National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Officer-in-Charge Police Brigadier General Christopher Abrahano, highlighting the command's zero-tolerance policy against predatory financial scams.