Sen. Risa Hontiveros (left) and Guo Hua Ping or Alice Guo. (Photos from Joseph B. Vidal, OSP/Voltaire F. Domingo, Senate Social Media Unit)
MANILA, Philippines — Chinese spies have entered the Philippines through the Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), Sen. Risa Hontiveros said on Thursday.
At the Kapihan sa Senado forum, Hontiveros confirmed receiving new information about Chinese spies in the Philippines and vowed to disclose the information during the Senate panel on women’s last hearing on the illegal activities of Pogos on November 26.
“Now that budget deliberations in the Senate are done, it’s time to continue our next and last hearing on the criminalities of Pogos and Guo Hua Ping or Alice Guo and her group,” she said in Filipino.
“We have obtained new information, especially on the entry of Chinese spies in the Philippines through Pogos,” she added.
READ: Alice Guo confirmed as spy by She Zhijang’s ex-cellmate
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Hontiveros also raised concern about the policy gaps involving President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Executive Order 74 banning Pogos.
“That’s why in the next hearing, we will lay out reforms in our law that we need to push for here in the Senate because of the many irregularities and policy gaps that we’ve seen. The committee will wrap up all loose ends at the hearing on Tuesday, Nov. 26,” she explained.
During his third State of the Nation Address last July, Marcos announced the Pogo ban. He then ordered the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation to wind down and stop the Pogo operations by the end of the year.
READ: Marcos: ‘All Pogos are banned!’