Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday, July 4, rejected insinuations that suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Leal Guo can stand as a state witness and testify about the personalities behind the illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).
“She cannot because she is not least guilty,” Gatchalian said in a statement to Senate reporters.
“She is at the center of the Hong Sheng POGO hub by applying for the Letter of No Objection and other LGU (local government) permits,” the senator added.
Gatchalian had also pointed out that Guo is already facing criminal cases, particularly with the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) are also bent on filing cases against the suspended mayor.
“So it is important that government lawyers should see to it that their actions are coordinated,” he stressed.
“It is also important that we identify the syndicates behind this. We want them to be held accountable and jailed for it, because Alice Guo is just one of many personalities and it is important for the government to know who the people are behind the POGO hubs in Bamban and Porac,” Gatchalian added.
Meanwhile, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said that it is imperative that Wesley Guo, supposedly the brother of Alice Guo, also faces the Senate probe on POGO activities.
Hontiveros made the call after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) found that Guo’s brother’s fingerprints matched those of Chinese citizen Guo Xiang Dan.
“Kung peke din ang identity ng kapatid ni Mayor Alice Guo, ibig sabihin maaring sangkot din siya sa mga krimeng binabaling kay Alice (If the identity of Mayor Alice Guo’s brother is fake, then it means he is also involved in the alleged crimes being hurled against Alice),” Hontiveros said.
“We should also investigate the possible complicity of her family and associates. We have subpoenaed them in the next hearing,” the head of the Senate Committee on Women and Children stressed.