Basis for filing of charges vs Alice Guo more 'solid' after executive session, senator says

Possible cases to be filed against Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and questions about her identity have become more "solid" after the executive session in the Senate with various government agencies, Senator Risa Hontiveros said on Wednesday.

"Walang nakabawas o nakabura doon sa namumuo talagang opinyon ng kumite na siguradong may kinalaman siya sa POGO hub d'yan sa Bamban. Du'n pa lang sa documentary evidence tapos siyempre 'yung ilang inputs mula sa mga resource persons," Hontiveros said during the Kapihan sa Senado held after the executive session.

(Nothing lessened or erased the growing opinion of the committee that she had something to do with the POGO in Bamban. It's obvious from the documentary evidence and the inputs from the resource persons.)

"Wala ring mas matibay na ebidensya na siya nga ay Filipino citizen. So nananatili talaga at lalo lamang naging solido ang mga tanong kung siya ba ay citizen o national ng ibang bansa at hindi ng atin... Hindi pa rin mas kumlaro 'yung identity niya kahit sa executive session," she added.

(We have yet to see stronger evidence that she is a Filipino citizen. So it remains, and our question has become more solid—Is she is a Filipino or not?... Her identity wasn't resolved even during an executive session.)

Representatives from the Philippine National Police (PNP), Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), Office of the Solicitor General, Armed Forces of the Philippines, National Security Council, Department of Foreign Affairs, Anti-Money Laundering Council, Bureau of Immigration, and National Bureau of Investigation are among those who attended the executive session of the Senate women, children, family relations, and gender equality.

Hontiveros likewise expressed confidence that the information shared during the executive session would further strengthen the current and possible cases that will be filed against Guo.

"I'm more confident na talagang magiging mabigat at solido ang mga kasong inihain na at maaaring ihain pa ng iba't-ibang mga ahensya ng executive [agencies] ng ating gobyerno," she said.

(I'm more confident that the case we will file against her is airtight and solid. It may also be filed by different executive [agencies] of our government.)

"Lumalabas ang katotohanan, hindi sa bibig ni Mayor Guo at hindi lang sa aming puspusang imbestigasyon, pati po sa mga parallel investigations ng mga ahensya ng gobyerno," she added.

(The truth is coming out, not through the mayor's mouth and not just through our investigation, as well as the parallel investigations of other government agencies.)

For Hontiveros, if Guo wanted to clear her name from allegations raised against her, she should have answered clearly all the questions by the Senate panel.

"Kung ano 'yung hirap niya pagkatapos ng nakaraang hearing na sabi niya linisin ang kanyang pangalan, hindi po nabawasan 'yan, baka pa nga nadagdagan. Kaya kung gusto sana niyang linisin ang kanyang pangalan, eh 'di dapat mula sa simula naging mas mahusay na resource person siya at hindi lalong nagdagdag ng mga tanong tungkol sa kanyang sarili," she added.

(Whatever hardships she went through after the previous hearing, these remained even if she promised to clear her name. If she wants to achieve this, she should have been a better resource person since the beginning of the probe and not allow to have more questions raised against her.)

Guo was not invited in the executive session to allow the government agencies to divulge information regarding the mayor's case, according to Hontiveros.

Meanwhile, Hontiveros said that Guo has "lied again" on her personal relationship with her former consultant.

"Napakinggan ko 'yung at least isa sa mga interview nila, dami niyang alam tungkol kay Mayor Alice Guo. Eh, maalala nyo, nu'ng una kong tinanong kay Mayor Alice Guo, ang Nancy Gamo, ang unang-unang sagot niya ay 'hindi ko alam,'" Hontiveros said.

(I was able to listen to at least one interview. The consultant knows a lot about Mayor Alice Guo. Just remember, when I first asked Mayor Alice Guo, it was Nancy Gamo who said, "I don't know.)

"So, ibig sabihin, nagsinungaling na naman si Mayor Alice Guo tungkol kay Nancy Gamo," she went on.

For Hontiveros, Guo wouldn't need to lie about her connection with Nancy Gamo if she is not hiding anything.

"Kung ang pinaka-iniimbestiga namin kay Mayor Alice Guo ay yung kanyang link sa Zun Yuan. Baka ayaw din niyang i-confirm ang pagkakilala niya sa kahit sino pang ibang tao na may documentary evidence na kami may link din sa Zun Yuan," she said.

(Our focus is to confirm her ties with Zun Yuan. Why doesn't she want to confirm whom she knows before anybody who holds documentary evidence.)

According to Hontiveros, the committee has gathered documentary evidence that Nancy Gamo has helped in the processing of papers for Guo's businesses as well as the documents for Zun Yuan Technology.  

Guo is currently being investigated by the Senate amid her alleged involvement in the operations of Zun Yuan Technology Incorporated, a POGO entity that was raided by police and the military in March for alleged illegal activities inside the Baofu Land Development Inc. compound located behind the Bamban Municipal Hall in Tarlac.

According to Hontiveros, who cited Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) documents, Guo is among the incorporators of Baofu.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian earlier said his office obtained a copy of a Sangguniang Bayan resolution dated September 2020 containing the council's approval of the application made by Guo, who was then a private citizen, for the license to operate Hongsheng Gaming Technology Inc.

The Hongsheng establishment was raided by authorities in February 2023. The same compound was then used by Zun Yuan Technology when it was raided in the Baofu compound in March 2024.

In the same press conference, Hontiveros said that she believed Guo was possibly linked to money laundering cases that were reported in Singapore.

Last month, Hontiveros citing Baofu Land Development Inc.'s 2019 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) documents, noted that Baofu's incorporators included Guo, Rachel Joan Malonzo Carreon, a Filipino; Zhiyang Huang, a Cypriot; Zhang Ruijin, a Chinese; and Baoying Lin, a Dominican.

Hontiveros, in an earlier statement, mentioned news reports on Zhang Ruijin's conviction last month for being linked to the "largest money laundering case in Singapore."

Citing a report by Channel News Asia, Hontiveros said the Chinese allegedly has "$41 million in assets overseas, including shareholdings in a Philippine real estate development company."

Asked if Guo's business ties with the suspects in the case established the latter's connection to money laundering in Singapore, Hontiveros said, "I really think so."

Hontiveros said that the Senate committee will conduct a briefing with the Anti-Money Laundering Case to look into the "illegal revenue streams" of the POGO hub in Tarlac.

"Kasi bakit may ganyang kalalaking mga pera na allegedly na-money launder nu'ng kanyang dalawang kasosyo? Maiisip tuloy, teka, ang laki din ang sinasabing halaga ng kabuuang Zun Yuan complex na 'yan," she said.

(Why is there a large amount of money that was supposedly laundered by two business associates? It would make one think, wait, the overall value of the Zuan Yuan complex huge.)

"Paano nakapasok at nakaikot sa ating ekonomiya kung walang malinaw na sources si Mayor Alice Guo at kanyang mga kasosyo? So, it's a very reasonable suspicion na kailangan naming imbestigahan ang pera ba para dyan ay galing sa money laundering," she added.

(How were people like Alice Guo able to enter and go around our country even though they don't have clear sources. So it's a very reasonable suspicion that we have to investigate. Is the money here really for money laundering?)

GMA News Online sought the comment of Guo, through Bamban, Tarlac's public information office and through her legal counsel Alex Avisado, but they have yet to respond as of posting time. — VDV, GMA Integrated News