SUSPENDED Bamban Mayor Alice Leal Guo, aka Guo Hua Ping, her siblings, and incorporators of the raided illegal gaming hub in Porac, Pampanga would be cited in contempt and ordered arrested if they do not attend the committee hearing set this week on the ills of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) industry.
The warning was made yesterday by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian during an interview with radio dzBB.
“Masa-cite sila in contempt at maaaresto sila. Puwede mag isyu ang Senado ng arrest warrant para maaresto sila dahil lumabag sila sa subpoena at na-cite sila in contempt (They will be cited in contempt and they can be arrested. The Senate can issue an arrest warrant agaist them because they will be cited in contempt as they did not honor the subpoena),” Gatchalian said.
The Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality will resume its hearings on Wednesday (July 10) in relation to proposals to shutdown POGOs in the country due to rising industry-related crimes.
Gatchalian said the committee has subpoenaed Mayor Guo, and her siblings — Shiela, Siemen, and Wesley – compelling them to attend the inquiry amid more questions on how they were able to acquire their Filipino citizenship.
Gatchalian said more evidence have been received by the committee on Mayor Guo as to her connections with illegal POGOs but did not provide details so as not to jeopardize ongoing investigations of law enforcement agencies.
“Marami akong nakukuha and I’m sure the other senators maramin rin nakukuha. Dahil nung lumabas ang kanyang totoong pangalan, si Guo Hua Ping, maraming nag-reachout para magbigay ng kanilang kuwento o magbigay ng kanilang nalalaman (I’ve been receiving a lot and I’m sure the other senators have also been receiving many evidence. It started when her real name , Guo Hua Ping, was established. Several people have reached out to give their stories o present what they know),” he said.
Aside from the Guo siblings, the Senate panel has also issued subpoenas to the incorporators of Lucky South 99, the operator of the POGO hub raided in Porac, Pampanga, to attend the Wednesday hearing, which will focus on its illegal operations.
Only one of Lucky South 99’s incorporators attended the last committee hearing.
“Parang ang nakikita namin dito ay umiiwas sila matanong. Kapag may mga taong hindi pumupunta, ang unang pumapasok sa isip ko ay may alam sila, umiiwas sila sa mga tanong kaya ipina-subpoena namin ang mga may-ari ng Lucky South 99. At pina-subpoena rin natin ang may-ari ng Whirlwind Corporation, ito ‘yung landowner para sumagot at magbigay paliwanag kung bakit sa loob ng compound nila ay merong ganitong mga torture at pangyayari (It seems that they do not want to be asked questions. If invited resource persons do not attend the hearing, what comes to my mind is that they know something, they are trying to evade being asked. That’s why senators asked the committee to issue subpoenas. We also asked that a subpoena be issued to the owners of Whirlwind Corporation, the owner of the lot where the Porac POGO was built, to explain why they did not know about the illegal activities inside the compound),” Gatchalian said.
DUMMIES
Gatchalian said the Senate investigation has so far shown that illegal POGO facilities are run by Chinese-led criminal syndicates with the help of Filipinos whom they pay huge amounts of money to transact with local government units to obtain the necessary permits and other documents.
The use of Filipinos, he said, was necessary since members of the syndicate do not know how to speak Filipino or English.
In some instances, he also said, a POGO operator just listed the names of Filipinos without them knowing that they are already incorporators of such gaming hub.
The strategy, Gatchalian said, can be used as basis of the committee in proposing the approval of a measure banning the use of dummies when setting up a corporation in the country.
“Alam ko dahil sa Ease of Doing Business hindi na nila tinitignan isa-isa ‘yan. Pero dapat siguro magkaroon ng random validation, post incorporation para malaman kung totoo (To my understanding, these are no longer checked [by the Securities and Exchange Commission] because of the Ease of Doing Business [Act]. Maybe it’s about time that random validation or post incorporation be done to determine if the incorporators are real or fictitious),” he said.
‘PROPER FORUM’
Also, Gatchalian said Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation(PAGCOR) chairman Alejandro Tengco should consider the Senate as the “proper forum” to unmask the former Cabinet secretary who reportedly facilitated the permits to operate of the POGO hubs which were later raided due to illegal activities.
He said Tengco has already “started” to give information on the involvement of the former Cabinet secretary and it is just prudent to disclose his or her identity.
“Yun ang tamang forum dahil nanonood ang maraming tao kaya ang aking panawagan sa kanya ay isiwalat na niya kung sino itong former department secretary at kung tingin niya na itong hearing na ito ay magbibigay ng mas malawak na impormasyon sa ating mga kababayan, ay dito na niya gawin dahil nga ito lang ang nagpapatunay na ang POGO ay kumakalat na ang galamay at nakakakuha na siya ng impluwensiya (The Senate is the proper forum because many people are watching the hearing. That’s why I am calling on him [Tengco] to disclose [the identity] of the former department secretary… he should do it at the Senate because that will prove that the tentacles of the POGO industry are far-reaching and it has been gaining influence),” he said.
Gatchalian likewise again pressed President Marcos Jr. to shutdown the online gaming industry and ban POGOs in the country because of the crimes committed by its operators, including human trafficking, even if the government earns billions of pesos from it.
“Isipin natin bago nagkaroon ng POGO wala naman human trafficking sa bansa. Hindi yan problema ng Pilipinas…Pero ngayon baligtad, tayo na ang naging human trafficking hub. Yung ibang lahi dinadala kaya malaking sampal at kahihiyan yan sa sarili nating bansa (Just think about this. There were no human trafficking activities before we hosted the POGO industry. That was not one of the problems we have… But now, it is the other way around. We are now a human trafficking hub where different nationalities have been trafficked here which has brought shame to our own country),” Gatchalian said.
