DILG probes Tarlac town execs’ ties to illegal Pogo operation

Bamban Mayor Alice Guo

BAMBAN, TARLAC, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has started investigating the alleged involvement of some local government unit (LGU) officials in the illegal Philippine offshore gaming operation (Pogo) here.

In his order issued on April 5, Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said a task force was created to handle the investigation into the conduct of the local officials but who were not named in his directive.

READ: Malacañang freezes assets of raided Pogo firm in Tarlac

Abalos said the investigation would look into “any possible administrative misconduct or neglect by LGU officials with respect to their responsibilities under the Local Government Code and related laws in relation to the alleged illegal Pogo operations” in Bamban.

The task force is composed of six lawyers and an engineer headed by lawyer Benjamin Zabala Jr., division chief of the DILG’s Internal Audit Service.

Abalos said the task force is authorized to reach out to any government departments or agencies for assistance if necessary.

While Abalos’ order did not mention the names of local officials who would be subjected to the investigation, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian had previously asked the DILG to look into the possible connection between Bamban Mayor Alice Guo and Zun Yuan Technology Inc.

READ: Over 800 Filipinos, foreign Pogo workers rescued in Tarlac raid

On March 13, authorities led by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (Paocc) and police and military operatives raided Zun Yuan Technology’s premises for alleged human trafficking and serious illegal detention of its workers. A total of 868 Pogo workers—371 Filipinos, 427 Chinese, 57 Vietnamese, eight Malaysians, three Taiwanese, two Indonesians and two Rwandans—were rescued from the company’s vast compound in Anupul village.

‘Not tolerating’

In a statement sent to reporters on Monday, Guo said Gatchalian and Paocc were “simply acting in good faith, on the basis of information that was given to them.”

“Nevertheless, I deny in the strongest terms all of these allegations of criminal conduct, or at least, allegations that I have somehow aided and abetted the supposedly illegal acts of Zun Yuan Technology,” she asserted.

Guo said she would never tolerate and be involved in “heinous crimes like human trafficking, torture and illegal detention.”

“I would like to remind everyone that, as Filipinos, our Constitution guarantees that we are all innocent until proven guilty. The point being, I am being unfairly persecuted in the absence of any real investigation and without any court trial,” Guo noted.

She said she was ready to answer all accusations and prove that all accusations are false and unjust if given that she would have chance to do so. “I welcome any investigation carried out by the proper authorities at the proper forum,” Guo said.

Similar case

The mayor added: “I request the people of Bamban to not be so quick to judge and to not let themselves be swayed by unproven, unfounded and unjust allegations made against me.”

Zun Yuan Technology is occupying the same 10-hectare compound that used to be occupied by Hongsheng Gaming Technology Inc., which was raided by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) on Feb. 1, 2023 for an alleged fraudulent cryptocurrency investment operation.

READ: CIDG raids Pogo firm in Tarlac; rounds up 850 foreign, Filipino employees

Some 500 Filipinos and 350 foreign workers were rescued from the Hongsheng compound.

Citing local government documents, Gatchalian said it was Guo who asked the Bamban municipal council in 2020, when she was still a private citizen, to allow Hongsheng Technology to operate here.

The senator also said that when authorities raided Zun Yuan Technology last month, Paocc found an electricity billing statement showing that Zun Yuan’s electric meter was registered under Guo’s name.

Guo ran and won the mayoral race here in May 2022 as an independent candidate.

A verification made by the CIDG National Capital Region showed that the 46 motor vehicles found inside the Zun Yuan compound showed that a Ford Expedition is registered under Guo’s name.

But in previous television interviews, Guo said Zun Yuan Technology’s electric meter is registered under her name because she facilitated the power connection for Hongsheng Technology. She also claimed that the Ford Expedition is registered in her name because she used to buy and sell cars.

The mayor said she approved Zun Yuan Technology’s application to operate in the same compound used by Hongsheng Technology after it submitted the necessary documents, including a permit from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.