Committee SENATOR Lito Lapid attends the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality’s probe chaired by Senator Risa Hontiveros (inset) on the illegal activities of POGO companies in Porac, Pampanga.

WHO IS THE REAL ALICE GUO?

June 26, 2024 Camille P. Balagtas 422 views

TWO Alice Guos? But who is the real one and the fake one?”

Deputy Minority Leader Senator Risa Hontiveros asked the question as she also raised the possibility of a stolen identity case.

Mayor Alice Guo and her alleged siblings Siemen, Wesley and Sheila, and their alleged mother Lin Wenyi, failed to face Senate investigation yester day prompting Senator Hontiveros to issue a subpoena.

The mayor’s lawyer Atty. Stephen David explained that his client asked to be excused as she is suffering from anxiety and stress and is sick, however she will definitely present herself in the next hearing.

During the continuation of the hearing a picture of a woman with the same name as Alice Leal Guo was presented.

Hontiveros revealed that the NBI had confirmed the document is in their data base.

“Isang malalim na palaisipan satin ang bagay na ito. Ito kaya ay Isang kaso ng stolen identity where somebody assumed the identity of a Filipino woman. How large and what is the nature of Alice Guo’s connection?” Hontiveros, who chairs the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, said.

The Hontiveros committee is investigating Mayor Guo on her involvement in the POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator) hub in Bamban, Tarlac and in Porac, Pampanga.

Documents provided by the NBI showed that the birth certificate of Mayor Alice Leal Guao is the same as that of the other Alice Leal Guo and their birthdays fall on the same date, July 12, 1986, but different faces appear on the certificates.

“Is this merely a coincidence that the two Alice Leal Guo were born on the same day? Hontiveros said as she cited that another coincidence revealed by an NBI clearance where it says that Mayor Guo applied only a few days before the date of the filing of the delayed registration of the birth certificate.

“Sino ba talaga ang protector ng POGO na ito na masyadong malalim at nakabaon ng husto? POGO money can influence the 2025 elections. The link and network must be fully investigated,” said Hontiveros.

Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito agreed with Hontiveros as he also asked the Committee to invite the former Mayor of Bamban Tarlac to shed light on the issue.

Ejercito said POGOs are obviously a threat to national security and have become a breeding ground for corruption.

“We need to act immediately against POGO. It is hurting the image of our country and becoming a problem for the country’s national security aside from the many crimes being linked to POGO, ” Ejercito said.

Senator Grace Poe, who was also present in the hearing said: “We have seen more than enough. Sobrang sakit na ito sa ulo ng ating gobyerno. If we leave this unresolved, POGO will spread like wildfire. Nanganak na ito ng maraming korapsyon. Masalimuot na ang tunay na mukha ng POGO and this need to stop.Ban POGO now.”

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian officially presented documents from the Board of Investment and the Bureau of Immigration showing that the Bamban Mayor’s true identity is Chinese and identified her as “Guo Hua Ping” who entered the country when she was 13-years-old in 2003.”

The Guo family, based on the documents presented by BOI, applied for a Special Investors Resident Visa.

When it expired, the family applied for Retirement Visa, otherwise known as the SRRV or Special Resident Retiree’s Visa which was granted by the government.

The SRRV is a special non immigrant visa for foreign nationals who would like to make the Philippines their second home or investment destinations.

Those invited during the hearing include:Engr. Marizza Grande, Asst. National Statistician-Civil Registration Service, USec. Nicholas Felix Ty, IACAT; NBI Regional Director Jerry Abiera, Region III-CELRO; Porac Mayor Jaime Capili and a certain Mary Joy Manalo Castro, whose name was identified as one of the incorporator but vehemently denied her so-called linking to the said POGO company.

Castro told the committee that she was surprised to see her name as one of the incorporator of the said POGO hub in Bamban Tarlac.

“Nagulat na lamang po ako na kasama ang pangalan ko. Hindi ko po alam kung anong nangyari dahil housewife lamang po ako sa kasalukuyan. Dati po naging tindera din ako. Nagtataka rin nga po ako dahil nakita ko ang pangalan ng iba pang kapwa ko tindera na sina Rowena na nagtitinda ng gulay sa palengke, si Thelma na almusal naman ang paninda at si Rita na nagtitinda ng ihaw-ihaw barbeque,” Castro said as she expressed willingness to cooperate with all government agencies if needed.

“Handa po akong makipagtulungan. Hindi po ako pwedeng makapagsalita para kina Rowena, Thelma at Rita kung anong kaugnayan nila pero ang pagkakaalam ko talaga ay mga tindera lang din sila. Nagulat ako na nakita ko mga pangalan namin,” Castro narrated as she presented her real BIR TIN no. which is not the same in the documents of the POGO company.

For USec. Ty, he confirmed the possibility of Mayor Guo being stripped of her Philippine nationality if proven that there was an anomaly in her birth certificate.

But at the same time, Usec Ty said Mayor Guo will not be deported right away but will be facing trial and might also face a life imprisonment sentence, depending on the verdict of the court .

Mayor Guo was presently given a preventive suspension by the Ombudsman which she appealed at Court of Appeal. She is also facing criminal charges filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission.

Meanwhile, Senator Lito Lapid also appeared in the investigation saying he should clear his name after he was allegedly being linked to the Lucky South 99, an illegal hub in Porac, Pampanga.

“Napilitan akong humarap dito sa pagdinig na ito dahil pilit idinidikit sa pangalan ko bilang may-ari at protektor ng pogo sa hub sa Porac Pampanga. Wala akong kinalaman diyan. Hinahamon ko na kung sino man ang makapagpapatunay na isa ako sa may ari ng lupa ng Pogo hub na yan sa Porac ay handa akong mag-resign bilang senador. Naging napakasama ng imahe ng Porac, Lapid said as he expressed dismay that his name was being dragged into the issue.

“Ang tunay na may-ari po ng lupa ay ang magkakapatid na Cruz,” Lapid said as he challenged Porac Mayor Capili to clarify the issue as he urged the latter to clean the name and image of Porac, Pampanga.

“Wala na pong mag-i-invest sa atin sa Porac dahil sa napakasamang imahe na naging dulot ng POGO sa ating pangalan. Linisin mo Mayor Capili ang pangalan ng ating bayan,” Lapid said.

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) has linked Guo to a criminal syndicate running the illegal POGOs in Bamban and Porac. Guo’s camp has denied this.

Criminal activities being connected to POGO include: human trafficking, scamming, prostitution, hacking of government websites and torturing.