5 firms tied to Guo, Pangasinan mayor

FLOATING a possible “criminal relationship” between dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo and Sual, Pangasinan Mayor Liseldo “Dong” Calugay, Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros yesterday bared five businesses believed to be jointly owned by the two during the Senate committee hearing on crimes associated to the operations of illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) in the country.

Hontiveros, chairperson of the Committee on Women, said the AC Aqua Farm, Dee Aqua Farm, Licsel Fish Farm, Donguo Fish Farm, and Guco Aqua Farm seemed to be a combination of the names of Guo, whose Chinese name is Guo Hua Ping, and Calugay.

The companies, though, have different registered owners.

“Hindi ba ang karamihan po rito sa fina-flash ko po ngayon ay mga pinagsama-samang pangalan niyo ni Guo Hua Ping o Alice Guo (Are not the names of these companies a combination of your names and Guo Hua Ping or Alice Guo)?” Hontiveros asked Calugay, who appeared before the committee for the first time.

Calugay denied any business partnerships with Guo.

Hontiveros said senators will dig further if there is a “possible criminal relationship” between Guo and Calugay.

“Wala akong pakialam kung meron man kayong romantic relationship (I don’t care if you have a romantic relationship). We are interested in the possibility of your criminal relationship. Ang pinaka interes ko ay kung may sabwatan kayong dalawa para sa kadiliman at kasamaan (I am most interested in finding out if you two colluded to sow darkness and evil),” Hontiveros said.

Senate president pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada echoed Hontiveros’ observation, saying that the firms’ names strongly suggest that they are combinations of the names of Guo and Calugay, citing as an example AC Aqua Farm, “which stands for Alice and Calugay.”

Estrada also said: “Yung Dee Aqua Farm, Dong. Licsel, Alice and Liseldo. Donguo means Dong and Guo. Guco siguro stands for Guo and Calugay. Madi-deny mo pa ba ito? (Dee Aqua Farm for Dong. Licsel for Alice and Liseldo. Donguo means Dong and Guo. Maybe Guco stands for Guo and Calugay. Are you still denying this?)”

Calugay replied: “Wala po akong ganyang negosyo, your honor. Hindi po ako nagsisinungaling (I have no businesses like that. I am not lying).”

Dee Aqua Farm is reportedly registered under the name of Cheryl Medina, the executive assistant of Calugay.

Asked to confirm this, Medina said the business allegedly did not push through.

In a previous hearing, Medina was named as the one who helped Guo find the lawyer who notarized her counter-affidavit that was submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

ROMANTIC TIES?

Estrada insisted Guo and Calugay is in a romantic relationship, saying there were photos of the two local executives showing Calugay wearing a campaign shirt of Guo, and Guo joining the victory caravan of the Sual town mayor when the latter won the 2022 elections.

Calugay said Guo was not the only local chief executive he invited to join the victory parade, but Estrada said it was very peculiar that it was only Guo who joined him on his victory caravan.

“Talagang mag-kaibigan lang kami, wala nang iba. Hindi ka-ibigan, kaibigan lang (We are really just friends, nothing more. We are not lovers, only friends),” Calugay said, adding he has a live-in partner. He said his first marriage has been annulled.

Estrada also showed photos of Happy Penguin Resort located in Sual, Pangasinan which was reportedly owned by Calugay and Guo.

Calugay said he does not own the resort, but rather only the lot where the resort was built.

He said he sold the 4,000-square meter lot for P1.2 million to a certain Veronica Soriano, but he could not remember when the transaction was made.

Estrada said he has documents showing that Calugay sold the property only last July when the controversy on Guo was on its peak. He asked the committee to subpoena all documents pertaining to the sale of the Happy Penguin Resort.

Estrada said there are reports stating that Guo and her siblings Shiela and Wesley hid at the resort before they escaped last July.

During the hearing, Calugay also denied knowing Duanren Wu, a major player in the Lucky South 99 POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga, and Cassandra Li Ong, an incorporator of Lucky South.

Photos of Ong and Wu attending an event in Sual were shown during the hearing.

QUESTIONABLE BIRTH CERTIFICATE

Estrada asked the Philippine Statistics Authority to look into the circumstances related to the birth certificate of Ong, saying there were questionable entries in her birth record.

For one, Estrada said Ong was not telling the truth when she said that she was born in 345 P. Mendoza street in San Juan City in the year 2000 through the help of a midwife, whom she identified in her birth certificate as one Rosario Mendez.

Estrada said a check of the records of San Juan City, where he was mayor for nine years, showed that Mendez is non-existent.

He also said that the given address in the birth certificate is fictitious.

“I’d like to point out that the place of birth indicated in the certificate of live birth is 345 P. Mendoza St. Wala pong ganyang address or house number sa San Juan (There is no such address or house number in San Juan City),” the senator said.

Estrada said Ong’s parents also do not have records of their supposed marriage at the PSA even if it was indicated in the birth certificate that they were married.

Ong, during the Senate hearing, said that she was told that her mother gave birth to her in San Juan City, but was brought a year later to the Chinese General Hospital in Manila. She said her parents availed of the late registration program of the PSA.

Estrada said Ong’ mother could not have given birth to her in a house in San Juan through a midwife since they have a free birth package in the city when he was mayor.

“It seems the entries in the birth certificate are quite questionable… This is another case of a questionable birth certificate issued through late registration. There is no basis for the issuance of Cassie Ong’s birth certificate. This should be investigated immediately, be cancelled if there are (questionable) findings,” Estrada said.

Ong said she was not aware that Wu, her godfather, is a wanted man.

BANKS

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian has filed a resolution urging the appropriate Senate committee to investigate the possible involvement of banks in the construction of POGOs.

In filing Senate Resolution No. 1193, Gatchalian said banks should have informed the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) of the suspicious transactions involving Guo’s bank accounts since these involved deposits and withdrawals amounting to hundreds of million pesos, which are far beyond the financial capacities of the Guo family’s businesses as indicated in their financial statements.

“A remarkable surge in cash flows, check disburseme nts, and a number of transactions involving the said Guo accounts was highest in 2020 which was highly unusual and suspicious considering that the COVID-19 pandemic paralyzed businesses and economies worldwide,” Gatchalian said.

He noted that the transactions involved significant amounts of money but were not flagged by concerned banks and financial institutions.

“The failure of these banks to report these dubious transactions raises the matter of the effectiveness of their internal controls and procedures for identifying and reporting suspicious transactions,” he added.

He said such circumstances raise questions on the adequacy of existing anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations and guidelines for banks and financial institutions.

Republic Act 9194, or the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, requires covered institutions, including banks, to report all covered and suspicious transactions to the AMLC within five working days from the date of occurrence.

“The Philippines remains on the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list, and our country needs to enhance its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing activities. The private sector’s support and compliance are crucial to strengthening the country’s AML-CTF regime, including increased adherence with AMF-CTF obligations,” he said.

COUNTER-AFFIDAVIT

During the hearing, Guo admitted that she signed the last page of her counter-affidavit that was submitted to the DOJ days before she fled the country.

The counter-affidavit was notarized by lawyer Elmer Galicia in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan on August 14 even though Guo did not appear before him. The document was submitted to the DOJ on August 16.

Guo admitted before senators that the counter-affidavit was “partially completed” when she signed the last page before leaving for Malaysia on the first week of July.

Guo invoked her right against self-incrimination when asked if she read the details of the affidavit, saying that human trafficking charges were already filed against her in the DOJ.

The DOJ said the accused are allowed to have their counter-affidavits notarized somewhere else if there are no available prosecutors at the department. It added that this was not the case when Guo’s camp submitted the counter-affidavit.

Lawyer Ran Ann Co, a representative of the Gana, Atienza, and Avisado law firm, said they were the ones who prepared the document but had no idea that Guo was already out of the country.

He said they were not able to discuss the contents of the counter-affidavit with Guo as they have “limited communication with her.”

“We were just calling her. She has no personal interaction with us at that time. We also manifested with the DOJ on the difficulty of communicating with her. She informed us that she has death threats, so she refused to personally meet with us,” Co said.

SUBPOENA

The panel issued a subpoena to a certain JP Samson, who reportedly stayed with Guo and 20 others in a resort in Zambales in 2023.

Samson is an alleged co-incorporator of Guo at Westcars, a company involved in the trading of second-hand cars and car accessories.

The subpoena was issued after senators learned that Samson has given strict orders to security guards of the subdivision where he lives that they should not receive invitations sent out by the Senate for him to attend the hearings.

Estrada moved to subpoena Samson, which was seconded by Gatchalian.

“There was a strict directive from him (Samson) not to accept any letter,” said committee secretary Gemma Tanpiengco, adding that invitations were sent out by the panel on the known address of Samson in Quezon City.

Hontiveros said non-compliance of Samson to attend the next hearing would prompt the committee to cite him in contempt.

Samson’s name came up after Raymond Ronquillo, the owner of Emon Pulo Beach Resort, told the committee during the September 5 hearing that he was with Guo and around 20 other companions at the resort for relaxation and swimming.

Ronquillo said Samson has not yet settled their bill.

POGO JOB FAIR

In a related development, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) – National Capital Region (NCR) Assistant Regional Director Jude Thomas Trayvilla yesterday said the special job fair for would-be displaced POGO is set on October 10 at the Ayala Mall Manila Bay in Parañaque City.

In an online media forum, Trayvilla said: “Come October 10, we will hold the special jobs fair for the POGO workers that will be affected by their closures.”

DOLE-NCR Assistant Regional Director Olivia Obrero-Samson said several employers have already expressed interest to participate in the job fair.

“Right now, we have 70 participating employers. The numbers are still expected to increase in the coming days,” said Samson.

President Marcos Jr. has earlier directed the Department of Labor and Employment to find employment opportunities for Filipinos, who stand to lose employment due to the ban on POGOs, now known as Internet Gaming Licensees (IGLs).

Subsequently, the DOLE ordered the conduct of profiling activities of POGO workers, who stand to lose their employment.

According to Trayvilla, they have already profiled over 19,000 workers from 48 POGOs/IGLs based in Metro Manila.

He said 19,341 Filipino POGO workers have been profiled, most of whom are doing administrative work, encoding, marketing, human resources, finance, information technology, housekeeping, drivers, and security guards.

“More than 19,000 POGO workers would be affected in the whole NCR with most of the companies having submitted their lists (of workers),” he said.

He said the number of affected workers may still increase with a handful of POGOs still expected to submit their own lists.

“We are still following up with the remaining establishments so that we can get their list of workers immediately,” he added. — With Gerard Naval