Mayor Alice Guo absent from Senate POGO probe
MANILA, Philippines (Updated 4:33 p.m.) — Suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo will skip the Senate hearing on Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) in Bamban, Tarlac, and Porac, Pampanga on Wednesday.
According to the guest list released by the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, Guo, who was among those invited to attend the inquiry, sent her regrets.
In a letter of explanation addressed to Sen. Risa Hontiveros and her Senate panel, Guo said that she cannot attend and participate in the hearing because she believes she is “not fit” as a resource person to the inquiry.
“Truth be told, my exposure to prolonged stress and high level of anxiety, owing to the concerning and malicious accusations thrown against me, have adversely affected and caused serious impact on my physical and mental health,” she added.
Guo lamented that her life was placed under public scrutiny.
She also cited the preventive suspension she is facing, the letter authority served by the Bureau of Internal Revenue on her businesses as well as the criminal complaint filed against her by Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, among others.
“More importantly, I have been exposed to by the public despite the absence of any finding by the courts of law and proper image, character and reputation. Unfortunately, I have already been prejudged guilty tribunals,” Guo said.
The mayor ended her explanation by extending an apology to the Senate committe. She clarified that she does not have an intent to disrespect or disregard the Senate over her absence.
Guo is being probed by the panel for her alleged links to the illegal POGO Zun Yuan Technology in Bamban.
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice said that Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla signed the Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) against Guo and 17 others for their alleged involvement in human trafficking violations. The ILBO has been forwarded to the Bureau of Immigration.
In a report of GMA’s “Balitang Pilipinas Ngayon”, Justice Undersecretary Margarita Gutierrez said that the BI has implemented the ILBO and has directed officers to monitor the 18 individuals’ whereabouts in case of any attempt to flee the country.
She added that a preventive hold departure order will also be implemented against the 18 subjects.
Aside from Guo, former Technology and Livelihood Resource Center director general Dennis Cunanan was included in the ILBO.
Hontiveros, who leads the Senate hearings into POGOs, said that documents showed that Cunanan was named as the “authorized representative” for the raided POGOs Hong Sheng in Bamban and Lucky South 99 in Porac.
“We will invite Mr. Cunanan to the next hearing to clarify his involvement,” Hontiveros said in a news release last week.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) last Friday filed a case of qualified human trafficking against Guo and 13 others.
PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio earlier said that Guo is also allegedly connected to Hong Sheng and Lucky South 99, which the latter's camp already denied.
Sen. Win Gatchalian said that Wednesday's Senate hearing will investigate Guo's involvement in Lucky South 99, citing that the individuals associated with the suspended Bamban mayor are also linked to the syndicate behind the POGO hub in Porac.
The Senate hearing, presided by Hontiveros and her committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, is a joint inquiry with the committee on Migrant Workers and Public Order and Dangerous Drugs. — Rosette Adel
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