Pogo hub in Lapu-Lapu: NBI to summon bizman to confirm lease contract

CEBU, Philippines — A prominent Cebuano businessman will be summoned by the National Bureau of Investigation-Cebu District Office (CEBDO) to confirm his ownership of the property rented by the Tourist Garden Hotel in Barangay Agus, Lapu-Lapu City.

NBI-CEBDO head Arnel Pura revealed that a lease contract between the businessman and Zhao Long, son of Zhao Shou Qui, the alleged owner of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub, was found in one of the seven vaults they opened on Tuesday, November 5.

According to Pura, the lease contract shows that the businessman rented out his property to Zhao for 30 years.

“We cannot disclose yet the name of the businessman because will be summoning him to the office to confirm his ownership over that property,” said Pura in an interview with the media.

Pura said that the lease agreement with the businessman, along with other documents such as bills and utility records, can be used to support the allegations that Chinese businessman Zhao Shou Qi and his son were in control of the premises.

He said that based on their preliminary readings of the contract, it was stated that the “property should not be used for illegal purposes.” Pura added that the contract specifies that if the lessee uses the property for illegal purposes, the contract will be automatically rescinded, and the lease guarantee bond, which serves as a security, will be forfeited in favor of the lessor.

Pura said that the lease contract was signed in 2018 between Zhao Long as the lessee and the Cebuano businessman as the lessor. The agreement included a lease guarantee bond of approximately P30 million and an annual rent of P6 million for the 1.6-hectare lot.

The NBI-CEBDO head said that, for now, the Cebuano businessman will not be held liable for the illegal activities that took place at the Tourist Garden Hotel, as he only leased the property.

“So, with that contract, I don’t think pwede nato maapil ang owner. Unlike sa Bamban (Province of Tarlac) nga sila mismo ang tag-iya. Sila Mayor (Alice) Guo naa siyay link sa ownership pero kini completely naay lease contract,” Pura explained.

He also mentioned that when the Chinese businessmen occupied the area, only the hotel and two other small buildings had been constructed, and these were "totally inhabitable."

“So ang mga Zhao ang nagrenovate, and in the course of years from 2018 hangtod 2024 they were able to construct those additional structures housing the POGO,” he added.

Pura clarified that the Cebuano businessman only owns the lot and the hotel building, while the swimming pool and other structures at the Tourist Garden Hotel were built by the Zhaos.

On the other hand, the NBI-CEBDO stated that the items seized from the vaults will remain in their custody, as approved by the court on November 6.

Pura said they will be using the seized items in their case buildup for money laundering and as additional evidence in the human trafficking investigation.

As reported, NBI-CEBDO said that the items inside the vaults include P400,000 cash, ledgers, and accounting books.

Pura said that approximately P8.6 million is in the custody of the NBI-CEBDO. Of this amount, P8.2 million was seized by the agency during the rescue operation on August 31.

“It is our belief that all these evidences, documents, papers and the proceeds would further strengthen the case we file against Mr. Zhao,” said Pura.

Now that the seized documents are in their custody, Pura added that they still need to review them, especially since several documents could help support the case, such as the lease contract.

“Like ang lease contract it will prove that Zhao Long controls the premises and his father which will pin them down,” said Pura.(CEBU NEWS)