Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is pressing for a deeper probe into documents obtained by his office that raised suspicions regarding the alleged involvement of Bamban Mayor Alice Guo in activities related to the operation of the Tarlac-based Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO).
The gaming operator, now termed as Internet Gaming Licensee (IGL), was raided by authorities last March 13 due to complaints of human trafficking and serious illegal detention.
Gatchalian recalled in a statement that the first document is a Sangguniang Bayan Resolution in September 2020 containing the council’s approval of the application made by then private citizen Guo for a license to operate Hongsheng Gaming Technology Inc.
In February 2023, Hongsheng was raided, and the same compound has since been established as Zun Yuan Technology Inc., the company that was just raided this month.
Another document gathered is a list of vehicles found inside the premises of Zun Yuan Tech. Based on the verification made with the Land Transportation Office (LTO), one of the vehicles, a Ford Expedition EL with plate number CAT 6574, is registered under Guo’s name.
Moreover, a statement of account issued to Guo by Tarlac II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Tarelco II) was also found inside the premises of Zuan Yuan. The statement of account, which appears to be an electricity bill amounting to P15.111 million, covers the period between September 2023 to February 2024.
The senator said “it is imperative for the Department of the Interior and Local Government [DILG] to thoroughly investigate the potential culpability of Mayor Guo.”
“These are damning pieces of evidence that Mayor Guo might be involved in the operation of this POGO facility that is now implicated in various criminal activities,” Gatchalian added, prodding the DILG “to look closely into the matter.”
Gatchalian, a former mayor himself, said local government executives “should be working to prevent criminalities in their respective jurisdiction and should not involve themselves in dubious businesses such as the POGOs.”
As presiding chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, Gatchalian has filed a resolution to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, into alleged human trafficking, serious illegal detention, and physical abuse and torture in the premises of Zun Yuan in Bamban, Tarlac.