By Hannah L. Torregoza
As the Senate continues to investigate the crimes related to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has sought the help of the Philippine National Police (PNP) saying he is now receiving death threats.
A copy of Gatchalian’s letter to Police Major Paul Benjamin Mandane, sub-station commander said the Pasay City Police Station, showed the senator citing that the threats could have been due to his involvement in the ongoing investigation into Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo’s involvement in illegal POGO hubs in her town.
“I am writing to formally report an incident involving threats made against my life. These threats appear to be a consequence of my active participation in the investigation on the POGOs connected to Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban and the Guo family,” the senator said in the letter.
Based on the letter, Gatchalian said he was informed by his staff last July 4, that a video circulating online containing explicit threats directed at his “personal safety and well-being.”
Attached on his letter to the police is a transcript of the video.
“The creation and online dissemination of this video has caused me substantial concern for my security, as well as the safety of those around me, particularly my family and staff,” Gatchalian said in his letter.
In light of the threats, Gatchalian formally requested the Pasay City Police to initiate a police report on the matter and to conduct a thorough investigation.
“I urge you to take swift action to ensure the safety of myself and those associated with me,” he said.
Gatchalian further told the Pasay City police he is ready to provide further information and answer questions about the issue.
It was Gatchalian who first divulged the possibility that Mayor Guo is Guo Hua Ping, a Chinese national who entered the Philippines on January 12, 2003, when she was 13 years old.
Gatchalian said documents from the Guo family’s application for a Special Investors Resident Visa (SIRV) indicate that Guo Hua Ping’s real birth date is August 31, 1990.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) later on found that the mayor’s fingerprints matched with that of Guo Hua Ping, indicating that the mayor is actually a Chinese citizen.
It can be recalled that the local chief executive have denied having Lin Wen Yi, a Chinese national, as her mother, insisting that she was a love child and a simple Filipino citizen who was raised in a farm.