Qualified trafficking raps filed vs Alice Guo

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed on Tuesday before a Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) a qualified human trafficking case against dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo over her alleged involvement in the Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub raided in her municipality.

Also charged were Huang Zhiyang, Zhang Ruijin, Lin Baoying and Yu Zheng Can, former Technology and Livelihood Resource Center official Dennis Cunanan and Guo’s alleged business partners.

Huang, Zhang and Baoying allegedly have links to property developer Baofu Land Development Inc., which leased a property to the Zun Yuan Technology, the Bamban POGO.

Huang has also been identified to be the so-called “boss of all bosses” of illegal POGOs.

They were charged with violation of Republic Act 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, as amended by the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012 and the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act in 2022.

The DOJ earlier said Guo is particularly culpable under Section 4(l) of the Expanded Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012, which provides that those who organize an establishment that is engaged in human trafficking are just as liable.

According to DOJ spokesman Mico Clavano, state prosecutors filed the case before the Pasig RTC following the order of the Supreme Court (SC) to transfer all relevant and relative cases in connection with the Bamban POGO.

In the original complaint filed by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission and the Philippine National Police in June, Guo was accused of involvement in Baofu dealing with the POGO in Bamban.

Clavano said the DOJ hopes the arrest warrant against Guo, should the court find probable cause, could be released as soon as possible as the Senate, which has ordered the arrest of the dismissed mayor, would soon conclude its inquiry into illegal POGOs.

Guo can also post bail for the graft case filed against her in Capas, Tarlac. The case has since been transferred to a Valenzuela City court.

“It will be in our favor that she will no longer be released from custody, so we hope these warrants of arrest are issued in such a timely manner so there will be no… interruption in the custody of Guo,” Clavano said.

Guo has denied involvement in the raided POGO hub in Bamban, where hundreds of people were forced to run scams or risk torture.?Apart from qualified trafficking, Guo also faces complaints of graft and money laundering in relation to the scam-farm raid in Bamban.

Consolidation

Senate majority leader Francis Tolentino proposed that the criminal cases against Guo can be consolidated.

During the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum yesterday, Tolentino said the recently filed human trafficking case before the Pasig RTC, as well as the graft case before the Capas, Tarlac RTC, share details on the criminal information against Guo.

“The cases can be consolidated, although the human trafficking case is higher than the graft case,” Tolentino said.

While the qualified human trafficking case is for the alleged trafficking of persons duped into doing scams at Zun Yuan Technology, it also shares something common with the graft case against Guo, for using her position as mayor to operate the said POGO hub.

“There is a process to consolidate the cases because there is overlapping evidence and commonality of facts,” Tolentino said.

He said it is up to the prosecutors if they move up to the Supreme Court to have the cases consolidated.

‘In aid of prosecution’

Meanwhile, Guo’s camp claims that the Senate’s public hearing about Guo’s links to POGO is not “in aid of legislation” but rather “in aid of prosecution.”

“This is an aid of prosecution. They wanted to establish her guilt. Might as well tell the court, guilty. What will happen to due process of law?” Guo’s legal counsel Stephen David said in an interview with ABS-CBN.

He maintained that Guo would answer the charges against her in court.

The DOJ should also present evidence amid the possible filing of a case against Guo’s lawyers in connection with her counter-affidavit, according to David.

But the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said yesterday that Guo was not the one who signed a counter-affidavit under her name which was notarized by lawyer Elmer Galicia.

The NBI revealed the signature on the counter-affidavit in response to the human trafficking cases filed against her by the DOJ was by another person.

The bureau based their findings by comparing the signature on the counter-affidavit with the other documents Guo had signed.

He added that Guo will post bail once the Senate ends the investigation on POGO.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros has said the Senate investigation into Guo’s links to POGOs and other illegal activities is “about to end, and I believe that we are getting closer and closer to the truth.”  – Bella Cariaso, Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Emmanuel Tupas