Gatchalian: Info revealed in executive session
SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian yesterday said that intelligence agencies have confirmed that Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac acted as the bridge or enabler in the supposed “deep connection” of the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) hub raided last March 13 with politicians, law enforcement agencies, and local crime syndicates.
Gatchalian said the information was revealed when the Committee on Women chaired by Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros held an executive session with the intelligence agencies, law enforcement agencies, the Anti-Money Laundering Council, and other relevant agencies to get updates on the agencies’ ongoing investigation on the Bamban POGO hub.
He said the reports made during the executive session were limited only to the findings of the respective agencies on the Bamban POGO center.
He said what he disclosed was the sum mary of the reports they received from the resource persons who attended the executive session, adding he is not allowed to divulge details of each report.
He said the executive session had two parts — the first on the reports of intelligence agencies and the second on the report of other government agencies, including the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
Without providing details since the information came from the executive session, Gatchalian said it has been established by the intelligence agencies that Guo reportedly acted as the enabler who allowed the entry of the POGO hub in Bamban, Tarlac.
Guo’s active participation reportedly came to light when the Hong Sheng Gaming Technology Inc. was established in a lot owned by Baofu Land Development Inc. in which the mayor had a 50 percent stake.
Hong Sheng was raided in February 2023 due to alleged fraudulent cryptocurrency operations. Zuan Yuan Technologies Inc. set up another POGO firm in the same lot where Hong Sheng was located.
Authorities raided Zun Yuan after a Vietnamese worker escaped from the POGO hub and reported the alleged human trafficking and serious illegal detention in the gambling center. It was later discovered the POGO hub was also engaged in scamming activities and alleged hacking of government agency websites.
“After nu’ng first part ay na-confirm ‘yung kinatatakutan natin na lumalim na ang ugat ng POGO. Ang influence nila ay umabot na sa mga politico, law enforcement agencies, PNP pati na ang BI, pati local crime syndicates. Nagkakaroon ng interaction itong dalawa. Nakakatakot ‘yan kasi ang pera ng foreign crime syndicates, ‘yung pondo, ay napupunta sa local crime syndicates
(We confirmed what we feared — that the roots of that POGO hub were deep. Its influence has reached politicians and law enforcement agencies, including the PNP and Bureau of Immigration, and it even has connections with local crime syndicates. The two (POGO and those giving protection) are having an interaction. That is alarming because the money of foreign crime syndicates, their funds, are going to local crime syndicates),” Gatchalian said at the Kapihan sa Senado media forum.
“May information na siya mismo ang gumagawa ng paraan para magkaroon ng koneksiyon sa iba’t ibang ahensiya. May active participation siya sa ibang ahensiya (There was information that she [Guo] enabled the POGO to have connections with different agencies. She has an active participation in relation to the other agencies),” he added.
As proof, Gatchalian said the permit to construct the POGO hub was awarded to Guo and she owns the Baofu Land Development Inc. the lot where the POGO firm was constructed. It also appeared that Guo was the applicant for the internet connection for the POGO hub.
“Binuo ang Baofu para makapasok ang POGO sa Bamban, at siya ang president nito. Lahat ng documents are pointing to her para matuloy ang POGO (Baofu was put up to facilitate the entry of that POGO hub in Bamban because she is its president. All documents are pointing to her so that the POGO can be constructed),” he added.
Guo has denied participation in the operation of the POGO hubs.
Gatchalian said he is confident the motion to lift the suspension order filed by Guo’s camp before the Ombudsman would not be granted. Otherwise, he said Guo can influence the ongoing investigation.
He said that based on the intelligence agencies’ report, Guo had an active role in setting up the POGO firm with four other partners, three of whom are involved in illegal activities in Singapore and China. The other, a Filipina, only served as their clerk.
AMLC SLAMMED
Gatchalian hit the Anti-Money Laundering Council for apparently being remiss on its job after it apparently failed to trace the source of funds and its receivers in the country in connection with the P6.1-billion POGO hub in Bamban, Tarlac.
“Wala silang sagot kahapon, disappointed kami. Hindi nila mahanap ang contractor, ang bank na ginamit at kung sino ang tumanggap ng pera. Ang sagot sa amin ay ongoing pa ang investigation…P6.1 billion ang pumasok na pera dito pero hindi nila ma-detect kung paano pumasok? (They [AMLC representatives] did not give us an answer yesterday [Wednesday]. They cannot even locate the contractor, or even the bank where the money was coursed or the person who received the money. They said their investigation is still ongoing…P6.1 billion was able to enter the country and yet they cannot detect how it was done?)” he said.
He said that even if the P6.1 billion entered the country in cash, the receiver should have been at least identified.
He said the committee has scheduled another session with AMLC in the hopes it could provide clear answers to their questions.
“Yung P6.1 billion pumasok dito nang hindi natin nalalaman. Parte niyan ay ginamit sa lagay para meron silang impluwensiya…Talagang maglalagay ka para magkaroon ka ng koneksiyon at iyan ang pinakita sa amin kahapon (That P6.1 billion entered the country without us even knowing. Maybe part of it served as bribe money…You really have to give bribes for you to have connections and that was shown to us yesterday [Wednesday]),” he added.
Gatchalian said that based on identification cards recovered from the raided POGO firm, the name of the construction company was a certain Haoli Construction Company with an address in Binondo, Manila.
He said his staff members discovered there is no such construction firm by that name in Binondo.
He said the building permit issued by the Bamban local government showed that a certain Engr. JM Turla signed the building plan, which came all the way from China.
He said all building plans must bear the signature of a local engineer for them to be approved for construction in the Philippines.
To Gatchalian’s surprise, they found out that Engr. JM Turla died of a heart attack last May 17 at the age of 47. He said Turla could have given them the name of the contractor that constructed the POGO hub.
Gatchalian said he also received information that one Gilbert Flores, an employee of the Bamban Civil Registry Office, who was supposed to attend the committee hearing, has also died.
“If you look at the timing (of the deaths) of Turla and Flores, it raises suspicions. But again, I don’t have evidence for now,” he said.
He said he received unverified information that Flores was allegedly a member of the local crime syndicate giving protection to the POGO hub and was also connected with the group that facilitated or applied for Guo’s birth certificate.
He said it is “so coincidental” that these happened while the Senate was conducting an investigation on the POGO firm and the real identity of Guo.
Gatchalian said the AMLC was also clueless as to the identity of the firm which rented out its equipment to the POGO firm while it was being constructed, or the identity of the contractor.
WHY BAMBAN?
Gatchalian said the POGO operators chose to set up the gaming hub in Bamban, Tarlac because Guo opened its doors to the firm.
“The mayor opened the doors to these criminal syndicates, naging enabler siya. Siya ang koneksiyon, siya ang naging tulay between the criminal syndicates and Bamban (The mayor opened the doors [of Bamban] to these criminal syndicates, she was its enabler. She was the connection, the bridge between the criminal syndicates and Bamban),” he said.
Gatchalian said that based on intelligence reports, there are a number of politicians who are part of the POGO “web.” He did not name names.
“Hindi sinabing enabler pero part of the web. Maraming politico, pinakita ‘yung list. May politico, law enforcers, crime syndicates, and businessmen (They were not enablers but part of the web. There are many politicians that were in the list which was shown to us. Aside from politicians, there were law enforcers, crime syndicates, and businessmen),” Gatchalian said.
He reiterated his call on President Marcos Jr. to immediately ban POGO operations due to the ills they have brought to the country.
“Ako ay nananawagan sa Pangulo natin na i-ban na ang POGO dahil lumalala at lumalawak ang gamalay nila. Galing na ito sa intel agencies, hindi namin ito haka-haka. Patagal nang patagal, palala nang palala. Kaka-raid lang sa Bamban, wala pang six months meron na naman sa Porac (I am calling on the President to immediately ban POGOs because the situation is worsening and their tentacles are reaching way too far. This information came from the intel agencies, these are not figments of our imagination. The longer they stay, the worse it gets. The Bamban POGO hub was raided and yet another POGO firm was raided in Porac in less than six months),” he said.
He said the intel agencies believe the Bamban POGO hub is part of a bigger operation.
Gatchalian said he has filed a resolution seeking to repeal the law levying taxes on POGO firms.
Senate Bill No. 2689 seeks to outlaw the POGO industry by taking away from the government the power to impose taxes on the gaming industry.
He said the proposed measure seeks to repeal the taxability of POGOs as provided in RA 11590, the only law that acknowledges and legitimizes POGO operations.
RA 11590 or an Act Taxing Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators was signed into law by former President Duterte in September 2021.
NPC TO CONVENE
Gatchalian said the Nationalist People’s Coalition will convene its Council of Elders which will decide whether to expel Guo from the party.
He said he talked to Sen. Loren Legarda and “we shared the same sentiments to expel her (Guo).”
Gatchalian and Legarda are NPC members and form part of the Council.
“She is a bad example to our members and future members. Pag-uusapan namin ito when we convene the leadership meeting we are targeting in the next few weeks (We will discuss this when we convene the leadership meeting which we are targeting in the next few weeks),” he said.
He said Guo ran for mayor as an independent and recently joined the NPC.
He said party members can present their case before the council which will then look into them and get a consensus “on how to move forward.”
He said the Council will use the evidence provided in the committee hearings to determine the fate of Guo in their political party.
“Obviously in this particular case iba ang nangyari (something different happened). We want to maintain the integrity of the party that’s why I suggested to expel her,” he said.
