‘Crucial’ POGO personality bared

A SENATOR leading a probe into criminal syndicates linked to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs) said dismissed Mayor Alice L. Guo confirmed a “crucial personality” behind illegal operations connected to these outfits during an executive session on Tuesday.

“I am not that satisfied with what was said in the executive session, although there was one crucial personality confirmed by Guo Hua Ping,” Senator Ana Theresia “Risa” N. Hontiveros-Baraquel said in mixed English and Filipino in a statement on Wednesday, calling Ms. Guo by the name of a Chinese national who matched her fingerprints.

“This corroborates a theory that the committee shared a month ago.”

During Tuesday’s hearing, Ms. Guo said she was a victim of the POGO issue, rather than a mastermind. She also told senators that she was willing to reveal the international criminal syndicate behind these crimes in a closed-door meeting.

Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Victor “JV” G. Ejercito on Wednesday told reporters in a Viber message that Ms. Guo is unlikely the one pulling the strings in these operations, but she may be a pawn used by an international syndicate.

“We still can’t discount the possibility that Alice is an agent of China based on her demeanor and her skillful evasion,” he said in mixed English and Filipino.

“Hopefully there will be more information gathered in the next executive sessions,” Mr. Ejercito said.

Ms. Guo is being accused of coddling an illegal offshore gaming company in the town of Bamban, Tarlac, where she ran and won for the first time as mayor in 2022. The illegal hub had been raided by Philippine law enforcement due to links to scamming operations in March.

The ex-mayor was arrested in Jakarta on Sept. 4 after fleeing the country via a yacht amid a Senate arrest order and human trafficking complaints against her. — John Victor D. Ordoñez