Guo names key POGO player, but not ‘most guilty’

MANILA, Philippines —  Dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo on Tuesday revealed a “crucial personality” to the Senate’s investigation into Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), Sen. Risa Hontiveros said yesterday.

“I am not yet satisfied with her statements during the executive session, but there was one crucial personality confirmed by Guo Hua Ping,” Hontiveros said. “This corroborates a theory that the committee shared a month ago.”

At Tuesday’s executive session, Guo revealed how she joined POGOs.

“She said something about how she got in... It’s a good start. That’s an icebreaker,” Sen. JV Ejercito said yesterday in a chance interview with Senate reporters.

Reports of scamming and human trafficking in POGOs are being investigated by the Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality.

The probe led to the discovery of Guo Hua Ping, who won as mayor of Bamban, Tarlac in 2022. Guo had fled to Malaysia but was arrested and brought back to the Philippines.

During Tuesday’s Senate inquiry, Guo claimed she is a victim rather than the mastermind behind crimes involving POGOs.

Asked by Ejercito if she was being used by an international criminal syndicate, Guo maintained her innocence despite saying that she may have assisted them because she is a “helpful person.”

“Hopefully, when she becomes more comfortable, she will tell us everything... Maybe an international crime syndicate is really involved, that’s why she’s scared to divulge information,” Ejercito said.

The senator maintained that he could not reveal information from an executive session.

The Department of Justice will determine if Guo can become a state witness, he noted.

Guo has been detained at the Pasig City jail, charged with qualified human trafficking in connection with the raided POGO hub in Bamban.

Hontiveros, chair of the Senate panel, will decide if another executive session will be held, Ejercito said.

Next session

Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino believes that Guo will “divulge a lot” about POGOs in the next executive session.

“I think she will divulge a lot, especially with her condition right now. I heard that she slept on plywood last night because of some bed bugs inside her detention cell in Pasig,” he told ANC.

“With her physical condition, as well as her health condition, she might be forced to say things not divulged before,” he added.

Tolentino said he could not ascertain if Guo’s associates abandoned her.

“Let’s see how it will evolve within the next few days because we still have one more lengthy executive session in store for her,” he said.–  Cecille Suerte Felipe, Emmanuel Tupas