House seeks further probe into Pogo-funded rewards, Guo case

Alice Guo. (House of Representatives photo)

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has adopted the Quad committee report calling for further investigation into dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo’s possible violation of anti-graft laws, as well as an inquiry into Senator Christopher “Bong” Go’s links to the rewards system funded by Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogo) revenues.

During the House session on Tuesday night, the four chairpersons presented the Quad Committee report.

A copy of the committee report sent to reporters showed that part of the recommendations included a call to further investigate the following personalities for their links to Pogos:

• former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque
• Lucky South 99 incorporator Katherine Cassandra Ong
• Guo
• Sual, Pangasinan Mayor Liseldo Calugay
• former Mexico, Pampanga Mayor Teddy Tumang
• Empire 999 Realty Corp. incorporator Willie Ong
• Empire 999 Realty Corp. incorporator Aedy Tai Yang
• former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang
• Go
• Yang’s brother Tony Yang

“Considering the information obtained by the Joint Committee from various resource persons during its hearings regarding Senator Bong Go, the Joint Committee may further inquire into these allegations,” the report reads.

“During the 28 August 2024 hearing, PCOL Jovie Espenido confirmed that Bong Go provided cash rewards to police officers who successfully implemented former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s war on drugs. The funding of the cash rewards came from, among others, Pogo entities,” it adds.

Allegations that income from Pogos was used to reward police officers who killed drug suspects were first raised by Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. on August 7, 2024, when he was asked why his panel, the Committee on Human Rights, was included in the Quad Committee.

According to Abante, they received information that money from Pogos was used to reward police officers who killed drug suspects.

During the August 28 committee hearing, Espenido said that a late mayor of Misamis Occidental told him that money from small town lottery, Pogos, and intelligence funds was used to reward police officers who carried out anti-drug operations.

READ: Espenido told: Pogo money used to reward anti-drug units

Eventually, known Duterte ally and former Police Col. Royina Garma admitted that the former president called her in May 2022 to discuss replicating the Davao model—a rewards system implemented when Duterte was Davao mayor, where police officers who killed drug suspects were given monetary rewards.

Garma said the Davao template involved providing cash grants ranging from P20,000 to P1 million to police officers who killed drug suspects. She added that the proposal was submitted to Duterte through Go.

READ: Garma says Davao drug war template, rewards system applied in entire PH 

On December 18, 2024, the quad committee released a partial committee report recommending the filing of crimes against humanity complaints against Duterte and his key allies for their roles in the extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during the drug war.

Go was among the individuals the committee sought to charge for violating Republic Act No. 9851, or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.

According to the final report from the quad committee, the inclusion of Go in the list of individuals to be charged for violating Republic Act No. 9851 is warranted due to his alleged involvement in the rewards system linked to extrajudicial killings.

“Additionally, due to his close ties with former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte as one of his allies and the information gathered from the hearings, Senator Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go should be recommended included as a party conspirator for violation of RA 9851, or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law,” the committee said.

“This inclusion is justified given the serious allegations concerning his role in a system that purportedly incentivized police actions during the controversial anti-drug campaign,” it added.

Regarding Guo, the panel said she can be sued for espionage and for violating Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

“Further investigation should be conducted on Guo Hua Ping a.k.a. Alice Guo. Various information regarding her remains unverified, including allegations of her being a spy and her connections to the Chinese mafias. If the findings warrant it, appropriate legal cases should be filed against her to address these serious allegations, e.g., criminal prosecution for Espionage as defined and penalized under Article 117 of the Revised Penal Code,” the quad committee said.

“The actions and conduct of Guo Hua Ping a.k.a. Alice Leal Guo as Mayor of Bamban, Tarlac should also be investigated for any Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices in violation of Republic Act No. 3019, including falsification of documents and perjury,” it added.

Guo gained national attention after a Senate hearing questioned her about the Pogo hub in Bamban, which was raided over human trafficking allegations.

Eventually, it was revealed that Guo had ties to the Pogo hub, as she previously headed Baofu Land Development Inc., which leased land to Pogo operator Zun Yuan.

According to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Baofu, represented by Guo as the company’s president, purchased eight parcels of land in the town in February 2019.

Guo claims to have divested her ownership of Baofu, but the DILG believes the amount — ₱2.5 million — was “grossly incongruent to her investment in Baofu, which is approximately eight hectares of land.”

READ: DILG files graft charges vs Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo 

On August 13, 2024, the Office of the Ombudsman announced that it had ordered the dismissal of Guo for grave misconduct over her “willful attempt to violate the law” as a public official who owned the sprawling property behind the municipal hall that housed illegal Pogos.

Fears also emerged that operators of warehouses used to store illegal drugs were involved in Pogos, prompting the invitation of individuals linked to offshore gaming operations, such as Ong and Guo.

Eventually, allegations that Guo was a spy for China were also raised, prompting concerns over national security./mcm