Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. | INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO/Ryan Leagogo
MANILA, Philippines — Local authorities should have raised concerns about the proximity of Bamban town’s Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) hub to a key military base, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said on Monday.
Teodoro noted that the Pogo hub linked to dismissed mayor Alice Guo is very close to Camp O’Donnell base in Capas, Tarlac, home of the Philippine Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (Tradoc).
“It is curious that a 32-building complex [was] operating within two minutes flying time away from the Tradoc and the light armor division [headquarters],” Teodoro said in an ambush interview in Camp Aguinaldo.
READ: Pogo sites near Philippine military bases likened to ‘Trojan horse’
“All of the authorities should have been aware at the time, particularly the local authorities,” he continued.
Camp O’Donnell base is a frequent venue of the annual war games between Manila and Washington.
At one point, the 250-hectare base also housed the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System or Himars, an advanced long-range missile system of the United States which could strike up to 3,000 kilometers away.
READ: US fires long-range missiles in Balikatan war games
Camp O’Donnell is only about 14 kilometers away from the now-shuttered 10-hectare Pogo hub in Bamban.
Guo (real name: Guo Hua Ping) is being investigated by the Senate and the House of Representatives over her alleged involvement in Pogos, now an illegal enterprise.
She Zhijiang, a “Chinese spy” imprisoned in Thailand, also linked Guo to Chinese espionage operations in the Philippines, according to an Al Jazeera report—an allegation she vehemently denied.