PAOCC says Alice Guo may have been protecting arrested POGO 'big boss'

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) is looking into whether the alleged “big boss” of the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Porac, Pampanga may be among the individuals dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo refused to identify in congressional hearings.

“Ang tinitignan namin baka ito ‘yung isa sa ayaw niyang banggitin kasi alam niya nandito pa ito [sa Pilipinas],” PAOCC Executive Director Gilbert Cruz said on Unang Balita in an interview on Friday.

(We're figuring out if his name is among those she didn’t want to mention because she's aware that he is still here in the country.)

“Ang madalas naman kasi na binabanggit ni Alice sa mga hearings, ito ‘yung mga wala na sa atin, ‘yung mga nasa abroad,” he added.

(The names Alice frequently brings up during the hearings are individuals who are no longer here in the Philippines, the ones who are already abroad.)

The alleged big boss, Lyu Dong, who is also known as Boss Boga, Boss Apao, and Boss Bahaw, was arrested on Thursday night at a residential subdivision in Laguna.

His arrest was due to the combined efforts of the Bureau of Immigration, the Department of Justice, the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.

Kingpin

Cruz said Dong could be labeled as the “kingpin of POGOs” in the Philippines. He supposedly arrived in the country in 2016 and has established various POGOs in the Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Metro Manila.

“Marami siyang itinayong mga POGO at tinitignan natin ‘yung involvement niya (he established many POGOs and we’re looking into his involvement),” he said.

According to Cruz, some of the POGOs Dong has established are still operating.

Cruz said that Dong was one of the individuals named when the task force applied for a search warrant for the Lucky South 99, the raided POGO hub in Porac. He said they have been searching for Dong for eight months.

“Nung hinahanap nga namin ito, gumagamit din ito ng chopper kaya nahihirapan kaming sundan itong si Lyu Dong,” he said. 

(When we were looking for him he used a chopper so we had a hard time keeping up with Lyu Dong.)

Cruz said they will check with the Chinese Embassy whether Dong was involved in other crimes in China.

Meanwhile, he said that PAOCC will check whether the nine Filipinos arrested with Dong will also face charges.

“Doon sa mga previous surveillance namin talagang nakikita namin how they secure itong si Lyu Dong. Talagang sine-secure nila ‘yan,” Cruz said.

(In our previous surveillance, we really saw how they were securing Lyu Dong. They really secured him.)

“Actually, may mga sweeper pa sila, mga naka-motor, doon sa mga videos na nakita namin na talagang nakatingin sa paligid bago siya lumabas,” he added.

(Actually, they even had motorcycle-riding sweepers, in the videos we saw, and they were clearly keeping watch around the area before he came out.)

Guo is facing a qualified human trafficking case before a Pasig court as well as a graft case before a Valenzuela court.

A quo warranto petition was also filed against Guo with a Manila court, as well as a petition to cancel her birth certificate before a Tarlac court.

She is also facing a tax evasion complaint, 87 counts for money laundering, and a perjury and falsification complaint before the DOJ. —KBK/RSJ, GMA Integrated News