Former Mayor Alice Guo Claims She’s A Victim on Illegal POGO Issues
ALICE GUO – The former Mayor claimed during a Senate hearing that she is allegedly just a victim in the operations of illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the Philippines.
After going into hiding for several weeks, former Bamban Mayor Guo was arrested in Indonesia. The Indonesian authorities located and arrested her in a rented apartment in Jakarta. She was abruptly turned over to the Philippine authorities.
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos and Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Rommel Francisco Marbil went to Indonesia for the turn-over of the custody of Guo. Several officials of the PH departments also flew abroad.
Back in the Philippines, Guo was placed under the custody of the PNP after a graft and corruption case was filed against her in Tarlac. Then, the authorities explained that she cannot be transferred to the custody of the Senate unless she posts bail. The upper chamber was the first to release an arrest order against the former Mayor amid the accusations linking her to illegal POGO operations.
However, a non-bailable human trafficking case was filed against the former Mayor. The Pasig Court ordered the transfer of Guo in Pasig City Jail. It was on Monday when the former Mayor was transferred from the custodial facility in Camp Crame to Pasig City Jail.
In Camp Crame, the former Mayor stayed in the PNP Custodial Room that was occupied by former Senator Leila de Lima when she was detained amid drug charges. It was the room of De Lima for 7 years until the charges were dismissed by the Court.
The PNP detention room has a simple bed, a ceiling fan, a set of table and chairs, and a bathroom of its own. In Pasig City Jail, Guo shares the cell with 6 inmates who are mostly facing drug-related cases. The Bureau of Jail Management and Penalogy (BJMP) said that Guo was shocked upon seeing the detention cell.
Meanwhile, the BJMP said that the former Mayor is mostly compliant on her first night of stay at the Pasig City Jail. The authorities assured the public that there will be no special treatment for the former Mayor. She was recently escorted to the Senate for the hearing on illegal POGOs.
At the Senate hearing, Alice Guo denied being the mastermind behind the illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming operations. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, she even claimed that she is just a victim in the issue.
“Di po ako mastermind. Masasabi ko po isa po akong victim,” former Mayor Guo said.
Guo also expressed her belief that the investigation has taken a long phase already and the lawmakers probably know the real mastermind of illegal POGOs. Based on the report, the former Mayor was also asked if there are people who used her in illegal POGOs.
“Your honor, ‘di naman po sa ginamit. If ever po, kung meron po akong naitulong, ano po akong tao, helpful akong tao,” she said.
Alice Guo also insisted that she was not involved in the activities of the illegal POGOs in the country. In the previous hearings, Guo also asserted her Filipino citizenship amid the lawmakers addressing her as “Guo Hua Ping”, a Chinese national who entered the country in 2003.