House panel wants Guo, mayors probed further

Dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo —House of Representatives photo

MANILA, Philippines — Beyond key figures in the bloody war on drugs, the House quad committee is also seeking further inquiries and the possible filing of charges against key figures in the illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), particularly Alice Guo.

Regarding the dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor, the committee recommended that Guo be investigated further to determine the possibility of filing espionage charges against her.

“Various information [about her] remains unverified, including allegations of her being a spy and her connections to Chinese mafias,” read the 51-page progress report summarizing the committee’s findings and recommendations from its hearings in the past four months. “If the findings warrant it, appropriate legal cases should be filed against her to address these serious allegations, e.g. criminal prosecutions for espionage,” it added.

READ: Alice Guo’s petition for bail denied by Pasig court

The panel also said that Guo should be investigated as well “for any antigraft and corrupt practices … including falsification of documents and perjury.”

Pogo links

In both the Senate and House inquiries into Pogos, Guo was identified as the previous owner of the Baofu compound in Bamban, which leased its land to a Pogo called Hongsheng Gaming Technology Inc., which later changed its name to Zun Yuan Technology.

Several Pogo service providers were found operating within the compound when it was raided earlier this year, including those associated with Xionwei Technology, a company owned by Allan Lim, an associate of former Duterte economic adviser Michael Yang.

Guo is also accused of misrepresenting herself as a Filipino using a fake birth certificate, which allowed her to acquire landholdings and even occupy a political office.

Allegations that she was a Chinese spy gained ground during the House quad committee’s inquiry after lawmakers confronted her about an Al Jazeera documentary on confessed Chinese spy Shi Zhijang, who implicated Guo in his dossier of Communist Party of China agents.

Other local execs

Two other mayors, Liseldo Calugay of Sual, Pangasinan, and Teddy Tumang of Mexico, Pampanga, were also recommended for investigation for their dealings with Guo and for possibly giving undue prejudice to Chinese nationals in allowing Pogos to thrive in their respective provinces.