Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian —Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian insisted on Monday that Alice Guo was an “active participant” in the operation of Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) in Bamban, revealing that the dismissed mayor paid the electricity bills of the raided Pogo in Tarlac the town.
At the Senate panel on women’s probe, Gatchalian cited documents from Tarlac Electric Cooperative Inc (Tarelco), supposedly proving that the electric bills of the Bamban Pogo hub was under Guo’s name.
READ: Arrest Alice Guo, others – Senate
‘[K]anina madalas kong marinig sa iyo na sabi mo wala kang connection sa Pogo at wala kang connection doon sa operation ng Pogo sa Bamban. Pero meron din kaming nakitang mga dokumento na nagbabayad sa Tarelco. And itong mga dokumento ito, nakapangalan sa iyo (I often hear you say that you have no connection with Pogo and you have no connection with Pogo’s operation in Bamban. But we also found documents from Tarelco. And these documents are named after you.),” said Gatchalian.
Gatchalian said Guo paid the following from 2022 until 2024:
- September 11, 2022: P5.4 million in check
- December 29, 2022: P28 million in cash
- January 4, 2023: P3.4 million in check/cash
- January 2024: P5.3 million in check
Gatchalian emphasized that Guo was already a mayor back then when she paid for these electric bills.
“[S]inabi mo kanina wala kang connection sa Pogo. Pero pag walang kuryente, walang Pogo. Ganun kasimple lang yun. Diba? Kung hindi mo yun binayaran ng kuryente, walang Pogo. Walang mare-raid, walang human trafficking, walang torture, wala. Pero tuloy-tuloy ka nagbayad. Even noong mayor ka, nagbayad ka. Even this year, nagbayad ka. So alam mo na may nangyayari dyan (Earlier, you said you don’t have a connection to Pogo. But without electricity, there is no Pogo. It’s that simple. Right? If you didn’t pay for the electricity, no Pogo. No raids, no human trafficking, no torture, nothing. But you keep paying. Even when you were mayor, you paid. Even this year, you paid. So you know something is happening there.),” said Gatchalian.
Active participant
This led the senator to emphasize that the Tarelco documents prove that Guo is an “active participant” in the operations of Bamban Pogos.
For her part, Guo refused to answer any of Gatchalian’s proddings, pointing out that a case has already been filed against her before the Department of Justice.
Despite Guo’s continued refusal to answer, Gatchalian said the strong evidence will speak for itself.
Guo is subjected to scrutiny after the Senate panel on women bared her alleged ties to illegal pogo firm Zun Yuan Technology Inc. in Bamban, Tarlac.
Questions about her citizenship were also raised, leading to allegations that she is a Chinese spy — which she vehemently denied. The National Bureau of Investigation, however, earlier confirmed that she and Chinese national Guo Hua Ping are one.