Alice Guo urged to name 'main players' in POGO syndicates

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Tuesday urged suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo to "expose the main players" in illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country. 

“I urge Alice Guo to come forward and cooperate with authorities and expose the main players of illegal and criminal offshore gaming operations," said Gatchalian.

The Office of the Solicitor General poised to file legal action against the suspended Bamban mayor for her possible links to a POGO hub involved in scams, human trafficking, and other illegal activities.

It was also earlier revealed by the National Bureau of Investigation that Guo and Chinese passport holder Guo Hua Ping have the same fingerprints.

“Ngayon at maliwanag na ang tunay niyang pagkakakilanlan, patong-patong na kaso ang maaaring isampa laban sa kanya dahil sa kanyang pagsisinungaling at panlilinlang, kaya mas mainam na magsalita na siya,” Gatchalian said.

(Now that her real identity has been revealed and that several charges will be filed against her because of her lies, it will be best for her to come clean.)

Guo is also facing graft charges filed by the Department of Interior and Local Government.

Guo has repeatedly denied being a Chinese citizen, saying she was a Filipino born of a Chinese father and a Filipino mother.

She told the Senate committee that she was a love child and that her Filipino mother had already left.

Her lawyer has also previously denied her involvement with a certain Guo Hua Ping.

House dangerous drugs panel chairperson and Surigao del Norte lawmaker Ace Barbers, meanwhile, called on President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to speak out against illegal POGO activities.

“It is about time we stop allowing POGOs considering that this is illegal in their country (China). Why are we allowing this in our country? Dapat magkaroon tayo ng matibay na posisyon rito,” Barbers said in a separate press conference.

(We should have a firm position on this.)

“Dapat ang administrasyon ay magsalita tungkol rito,” Barbers added.

(The administration should speak out.)

Barbers added that POGOs “economic benefits” cannot justify its existence in the country, given the spate of crimes that emerged because of it.

“As for revenues, economic benefits that we are supposedly getting from POGO, we should remember that social costs are much higher because of kidnapping, extortion, bribery, and corruption,” Barbers said. —VAL, GMA Integrated News