On Wednesday, the Senate will hold a hearing on Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) in Bamban, Tarlac, and Porac, Pampanga. Bamban Mayor Alice Guo, who is suspended, will not be present.
Guo, who was invited to the investigation, expressed her regrets, according to the Senate Committee for Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, which also disclosed the guest list.
The panel has opened a probe against Guo because of possible connections to the illicit POGO Zun Yuan Technology in Bamban.
The Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) against Guo and 17 other individuals for their alleged involvement in human trafficking breaches was signed by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, according to a Department of Justice announcement on Tuesday. We have sent the ILBO on to the Immigration Bureau.
Justice Undersecretary Margarita Gutierrez reportedly said that the Bureau of Immigration has put the ILBO into effect and instructed officials to keep an eye on the 18 people in case they try to leave the country, according to a report from GMA’s “Balitang Pilipinas Ngayon.”
Additionally, a preventative hold departure order will be implemented against the eighteen people, stated Gutierrez.
In addition to Guo, the ILBO also includes Dennis Cunanan, the former director general of the Technology and Livelihood Resource Center.
Documents naming Cunanan as the “authorized representative” for the raided POGOs Lucky South 99 in Porac and Hong Sheng in Bamban were referenced by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who is in charge of the Senate hearings on POGOs.
Hontiveros stated in a statement to the press last week, “We will invite Mr. Cunanan to the next hearing to clarify his involvement.”
A complaint of qualified human trafficking was filed on Friday against Guo and 13 other people by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).
Prior to her camp’s denial, PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio claimed that Guo was associated with Hong Sheng and Lucky South 99.
Sen. Win Gatchalian stated that Guo’s role in Lucky South 99 will be looked into during Wednesday’s Senate session. He also mentioned that people connected to the suspended mayor of Bamban are also connected to the syndicate that operates the POGO hub in Porac.
The Senate investigation, which is being led by Hontiveros and her Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality committee, is being conducted in conjunction with the committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs and Migrant Workers.
