Senate set to wrap up POGO, Guo probe

MANILA, Philippines —   The Senate is set to wrap up its yearlong investigation on illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO), Sen. Risa Hontiveros said yesterday.

According to Hontiveros, the investigation on dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo’s involvement in illegal POGOs is the last chapter of the inquiry.

“Our investigation on Guo Hua Ping is the last chapter in our POGO investigation,” Hontiveros told dzXL, referring to Guo’s Chinese name, which the latter has denied before senators who uncovered her alleged fake Filipino citizenship.

Senators looked into Guo’s involvement in the raided POGO hub Zun Yuan Technology while she was Bamban mayor. Guo has since been dismissed from the elective post by the Office of the Ombudsman.

Guo also a quo warranto case after senators blew the lid on her alleged espionage activities and role in forcing trafficked persons to do scams in the POGO hub.

The Senate as early as last year looked into raided POGO hubs, which served as cryptocurrency scam farms. Their investigation took a turn when authorities stumbled upon the POGO hub located just behind the Bamban municipal hall.

Hontiveros said the Senate would conclude the hearing by digging deeper into claims made by self-confessed Chinese spy She Zhijiang in an Al Jazeera documentary that he and Guo worked for the Chinese Communist Party.

The Senate is also inclined to invite accused POGO kingpin Lin Xunhan, alias Lyu Dong, who allegedly knew Guo and is seen as a pioneer in illegal POGOs. Lin was arrested by authorities in Biñan, Laguna last Thursday.

Hontiveros lamented that the Senate could not reach out to She Zhijiang after the latter was put into maximum security prison following the Al Jazeera documentary. She Zhijiang is detained in Thailand for alleged illegal casinos and is fighting extradition to China.

“We have learned from media sources that She, who is charged with illegally operating a casino, is currently unreachable and has been moved to a different prison facility,” Hontiveros said.

“I am holding the Department of Foreign Affairs to its commitment during the latest Senate hearing that it is urgently exhausting all diplomatic and legal channels to allow Philippine officials, with permission by Thai authorities, to communicate with She,” Hontiveros added.

Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday said the deadline for POGO foreign workers to voluntarily downgrade their visas has been extended until today.

The deadline was originally set for Oct. 15, but Remulla said the Bureau of Immigration (BI) would accept applications for the downgrading of visas until Oct. 18.

“We want as many people to voluntarily downgrade their visas because an automatic cancellation has a lot of implications,” Remulla told reporters.

Foreign workers were told to downgrade their 9G visas to tourist visas, allowing them to stay in the country until yearend.

According to the BI, over 12,000 foreign POGO workers have applied for the downgrade of working visas.

BI Commissioner Joel Viado already said there would be no more extensions for the filling and that those who do not meet the deadline will have to leave the country.

The BI also plans to conduct implementation days for POGO companies where it can issue on-site exit clearances and Department of Labor and Employment personnel can accept Alien Employment Permits surrendered by POGO workers.

As for Filipinos who take over POGO operations, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said the scenario is a potential ticking time bomb and a problem for the country as a majority of them go scot-free.

Spokesman Winston John Casio admitted yesterday that PAOCC is facing challenges in holding hundreds of Filipinos found to be involved in POGO operations criminally liable.

“Due to lack of material time to be able to develop a credible case against most of these Filipinos, we’re able to let them go,” he said.

Casio raised a scenario wherein 400 Filipinos are caught in one scam farm, noting that it will be a challenge to prosecute all of them.

Despite the directive of President Marcos for them to cease operations, several POGOs appear to be continuing their activities as smaller units and shifting to underground operations.

Casio said unscrupulous Filipinos have also learned the trade of scamming people from the Chinese nationals who are running POGOs.

Roque in Mindanao?

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said yesterday that former presidential spokesman Harry Roque, who is questioned for involvement in POGO operations, could be hiding in Mindanao.

Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo, PNP public information officer, said the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group received information that Roque was spotted twice in Mindanao.

Fajardo did not specify the areas in Mindanao where Roque was spotted so as not to jeopardize manhunt operations for the former government official.

“Your guess is as good as mine with respect to his intention. Why should he go to that place?” Fajardo said, referring to Mindanao. – Emmanuel Tupas