LINGAYEN, Philippines – An online tutorial center raided by agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) last March resumed operation last Friday after the case filed against the firm was dismissed.
The reopening ceremony of the Kame Hachi Corp., a company engaged in online English tutorials, was led by Pangasinan Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil and provincial employment services office chief Alex Ferrer.
Lawyer Nolan Evangelista, who represents Kame Hachi Corp., said the case was dismissed in August for lack of probable cause.
Evangelista said the establishment was raided by the CIDG for alleged human trafficking.
“When no violation of the anti-human trafficking law was determined, they tried to change the case to cybercrime, but it was not justified as the search warrant was meant only for one crime or violation,” Evangelista said.
He said when the case was brought for inquest at the Department of Justice, the DOJ asked the raiding team if they saw anything incriminating. When the team said no, the DOJ ordered the release of persons they arrested.
Evangelista said the DOJ ordered the court that issued the search warrant to quash the warrant and release the items confiscated during the raid.
Takayuki Umeda, a Japanese stockholder of the company, said they were hoping to recover their losses.
Cristine Bautista, one of the online tutors, said they never engaged in any illegal activities.
Bautista said they use textbooks and prepare lesson plans in teaching their students, mostly children from Japan, Korea and Russia.