THE Department of Justice has filed qualified trafficking in persons raps against dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo and three others over the alleged illegal activities of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in the town that was raided by the authorities last March.

The cases for violation of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 and the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2022 were filed before the Pasig City Regional Trial Court last Tuesday, the DOJ said yesterday.

Aside from Guo, also charged were Huang Zhiyang, dubbed by authorities as the “boss of all bosses” of illegal POGO operations; Lin Baoying and Zhang Ruijin.

The cases were filed by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission and the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group based on the evidence gathered after the raid on the POGO hub in Bamban.

It was submitted for resolution last month after state prosecutors handling the case gave Guo two chances to submit her counter-affidavit.

Guo’s counter-affidavit was found mired in controversy, with the dismissed mayor admitting in the Senate inquiry last Tuesday that she signed it before she escaped from the Philippines last July.

Last week, DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty said state prosecutors “found reasonable certainty of conviction based on available records and witnesses” to prosecute the case against Guo.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla issued an order last year requiring prosecutors not just to pursue cases on the basis of finding probable cause but also on the existence of a reasonable certainty of conviction.

Under the law governing trafficking in persons, individuals who organize an establishment engaged in human trafficking may be held accountable for human trafficking despite not having direct participation in criminal activities such as torture, rape, forced labor and other related acts.

Guo, who is also facing a slew of criminal cases, has repeatedly denied her link to the illegal POGO in Bamban.

She is detained at the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame after she was arrested by Indonesian authorities last week and returned to Manila.

Remulla earlier said the DOJ has secured the approval of the Supreme Court to transfer the non-bailable trafficking in person cases against those involved in the Bamban POGO hub from the Capas Regional Trial Court to the Pasig City Regional Trial Court.

In a 7-page notice, the SC directed judges in Capas, Tarlac and other stations in Luzon to order the transmittal of records of future cases involving POGOs and other related cases of similar concern to the Office of the Clerk of Courts, RTC in Pasig or the Office of the Clerk of Court of the Metropolitan Trial Court in Pasig.

The High Court agreed with Remulla’s explanations on the need to “safeguard national interest and ensure fairness’ in the justice system, considering the personalities involved” in seeking the transfer of the cases.

Remulla also said the cases exceed local boundaries which are “national security and general policies.”

Remulla also said a transfer of trial will prevent possible local biases or undue influences in the proceedings.

“The foregoing grounds relied upon by Secretary Remulla are compelling reasons to justify the transfer of venue of the subject cases and all other future related cases related thereto,” the SC added.

EX-PNP CHIEF

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said it has no information about a former PNP chief who supposedly helped Guo escape from the country.

“Unfortunately, no,” PAOCC spokesman Winston Casio told a radio interview when asked if the agency has intelligence information on the involvement of the former PNP chief in the escape of Guo and her companions.

Last Tuesday, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation Senior Vice President Raul Villanueva told senators that intelligence reports showed a PNP official was involved in the escape of Guo.

Villanueva said the official, a former PNP chief, was on the payroll of Guo. He did not identify the former PNP chief, adding the report is still being verified.

Villanueva is a retired Army general previously assigned with the Intelligence Service of the AFP. A military official described Villanueva as a “very good intelligence operator.”

“We have not heard of the alleged former PNP chief who has aided Alice Gou in her escape out of the country. But because of the disclosure yesterday of Gen. Villanueva, we’ll have to look into it now,” said Casio.

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said the PNP will coordinate with Villanueva “for purposes of identifying this individual.”

Fajardo said the PNP leadership was surprised by the remarks of Villanueva, noting they heard reports about the alleged involvement of a former PNP chief in the escape of Guo only yesterday.

Fajardo said PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil described Villanueva’s remarks as “serious rumors” but added the PNP would look into it.

Fajardo said 29 PNP chiefs served before Marbil, and five of them are dead.

“We are talking about 24 names (former PNP chiefs),” said Fajardo, adding the 24 living former PNP chiefs are in a position to clear their names.

Fajardo said there will be no “sacred cows” in the investigation the PNP will conduct, even if it means holding liable a former PNP chief.

“He (Marbil) ordered the CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) to coordinate with Pagcor to get more details as to the identity of the former PNP chief who is allegedly on the take,” said Fajardo.

“If there is evidence, we are going to file charges (against the former PNP chief),” said Fajardo. “No one is above the law, even if you are a former PNP chief.”

Casio said efforts are still underway to identify others who helped Guo escape.

“We’re looking at some private individuals and the mayor of Sual, Pangasinan,” said Casio, referring to Sual Mayor Liseldo Calugay, who Sen. Jinggoy Estrada said has a “romantic relationship” with Guo.

“As disclosed yesterday during the Senate hearing, there is a municipal wharf in the municipality of Sual, Pangasinan. And we’ve been looking at that municipal wharf as a possible escape route, (the) escape point of the Guo siblings,” said Casio.

Fajardo also said there are no indications that former presidential spokesman Harry Roque has left the country.

Roque was recently ordered arrested by the House’s quad committee after he was cited in contempt for failing to submit subpoenaed documents in connection with the panel’s ongoing probe on the operations of illegal offshore gaming hubs.

“Based on our coordination with the Bureau of Immigration, there are no indications that he is out of the country,” Fajardo said.

Fajardo said immigration authorities are “on alert definitely,” noting that Roque is on the immigration lookout bulletin.

The House of Representatives has requested the PNP to help locate and arrest Roque.

Fajardo said PNP tracker teams have gone to the offices and addresses of Roque but failed to find him.

Short of appealing to Roque to surrender, Fajardo urged the former presidential spokesman to “respect the process,” adding: “At the end of the day, nobody is above the law.”