Tarlac woman surprised she's named co-incorporator in Bamban POGO

A woman from Concepcion, Tarlac appeared before a Senate investigation on Wednesday to testify that she is not a co-incorporator of Hongsheng Gaming Technology Inc., a POGO firm being linked to suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo.

Senator Risa Hontiveros presented during the hearing Merly Joy Manalo Castro, who reached out to her office after finding out that she was charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) last Friday along with Guo.

Castro said she had no idea why the Senate committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality, which is investigating the raided POGO hub in Bamban, sent her an invitation to attend the hearing because she does not know anything about Hongsheng. Hontiveros is the chairperson of the Senate panel.

She likewise received a letter from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) with regard to the closure of Hongsheng and later went to the agency's office to state that she is not connected to the company.

"Nalaman ko lang po 'yung mga pangalan nu'ng lumabas nu'ng Friday night na kasama po ako sa list ng mga pinapasa nasa DOJ na, which is sobrang takot ko po kasi wala po akong idea paano po ako nandodoon," Castro shared.

(I only found out about the names after these were mentioned on Friday night. My name was included in the list that was submitted to the DOJ. I was so scared. I had no idea how I ended up in the list.)

"Inantay ko po talaga, pinanood ko hanggang gabi nung nilabas po sa balita 'yung mga kasali, nabasa ko po ang pangalan ko."

(I really waited. I watched until the evening when the news came out about those who were included in the list, and that's when I read my name.)

"Nalaman ko lang nga po kasi nu'ng unang letter niyo, tapos may sumunod po kasing letter from BIR, closure daw po nung Hongsheng and pumunta po ako sa BIR to inform them na wala akong ipapasang papel kasi hindi po ako connected," she added.

(I only found out through your first letter, which was followed by a letter from the BIR about the closure of Hongsheng. I went to the BIR to inform them that I never submitted any papers because I am not connected.)

Castro told the committee that she has no idea about Hongsheng operations, and that she is not aware of what POGO is.

She likewise said that she did not sign any papers related to Hongsheng or with regard to establishing a company.

TIN ID

Hontiveros then compared the Tax Identification Number (TIN) ID provided by Castro to the same card submitted by Hongsheng.

The senator noted that the TIN from the two IDs presented were not the same, but the signatures look similar.

Asked if the signature on the TIN ID presented by Hongsheng is fake, Castro answered in the affirmative.

Moreover, Castro said she only knew three names among the co-incorporators listed by Hongsheng.

From a local market

According to Castro, she knew these three people from a market in Concepcion, Tarlac. One of them sells vegetables, the other one sells breakfast food, while the other one sells chicken barbeque.

"Di ako sure kung incorporator sila (I'm not sure if they are incorporators)," she said.

With Castro facing a non-bailable case despite claiming that she is not an incorporator of Hongsheng, Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty said she must go to the DOJ to air her side and prove that she is not connected to the POGO firm.

"Ongoing pa naman ang preliminary investigation. So karapat-dapat lang na humarap sila sa preliminary investigation na igaganap sa DOJ at ibigay nila ang kanilang panig, itong mga sinasabi nila. Dapat mapatunayan nila at hopefully, ma-convince nila ang prosecutor na hindi sila isama don sa dadalhin sa korte," Ty said.

(The preliminary investigation is still ongoing. So it's just right that they face the preliminary investigation at the DOJ so they may give their side. They should prove their claims, and hopefully they will be able to convince the prosecutor that they should not be dragged to court.)

Castro said that she is ready to assert her side to the DOJ, maintaining that she "has nothing to do with this."

Last Friday, authorities filed a complaint against Guo, former Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC) deputy director general Dennis Cunanan, and 12 officers and incorporators.

They were charged with violation of Sections 4 and 6 of Republic Act (RA) 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 as amended by RA 10364, as further amended by RA 11862. — VDV, GMA Integrated News