Pagcor Senior Vice President, Security and Monitory Cluster Ret. Gen. Raul Villanueva —Inquirer photo/Richard A. Reyes
MANILA, Philippines — A retired chief of the Philippine National Police was among the senior law enforcement officers who were allegedly on the “monthly payroll” of Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), the head of security of the state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) told senators on Tuesday.
At the resumption of the Senate hearing on Pogos, Pagcor senior vice president Raul Villanueva said they have heard “rumors” in the intelligence community that a former high-ranking police official was taking bribes apparently to protect the illegal online gaming business.
But Villanueva, a retired Army general, admitted that they have yet to independently verify the intelligence information.
Replying to questions from Sen. Risa Hontiveros, the Pagcor official said the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency told him that it did not have a similar report on the matter.
As Hontiveros had earlier revealed, he said they also stumbled upon information that a huge amount changed hands in helping dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo slipped out of the country in July.
Up for validation
The senator had previously said that Guo spent P200 million in buying her way out of the country to evade the Senate investigation and criminal charges filed in the Department of Justice against her and her alleged cohorts.
According to Hontiveros, a “high official” of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) had received the grease money.
“There’s talk that there are immigration (officers) who got bribed. They also included PNP officials. But I could not confirm it because I’m outside of the loop lately,” Villanueva told Hontiveros.
When the senator asked him which PNP unit was supposedly on the take, he said: “It’s not a PNP unit, but personalities. I think it mentioned a former PNP chief.”
“But I could not ascertain where the report came from. It’s just like rumors within the intelligence community. I think they are validating it right now,” he added.
Asked by Hontiveros if the former PNP chief had participated in Guo’s escape, Villanueva said: “The talk was that [he] was on the monthly payroll (of Pogos) ever since.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada pressed Villanueva to identify the retired senior police official, saying it was unfair to the other former PNP chiefs who might be dragged unnecessarily into the issue.
In response, the official of the state gaming regulator said: “I don’t have the name. The intelligence community is still verifying it.”
NBI, PNP probe
Angelito Magno, assistant director of the National Bureau of Investigation, said they were already investigating the supposed payoffs involving senior BI and PNP officials.
“We are looking at all these. But at this moment, we cannot comment on the investigation and intelligence gathering that we are conducting,” Magno said.
Brig. Gen. Raul Tacaca, the deputy chief of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, told Hontiveros that they were not aware of Villanueva’s claim.
“Despite that, our intelligence (unit) is continuously coordinating with other agencies to determine if there are PNP personnel involved (in Guo’s escape),” Tacaca said.
Hontiveros, who headed the hearing as chair of the Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality, was shocked by Villanueva’s revelation.
“It gets worse and worse. It’s bad enough that P200 million in bribe money was allegedly paid in Guo’s escape. It’s even worse if historically, there’s a monthly payroll (that included a PNP chief),” she said.
“This is a big development and horrifying to hear. If this is true, Pogo money has indeed reached the highest levels of our government,” she lamented.
Sen. Joel Villanueva said the rather disturbing information that the Pagcor official disclosed should be pursued as it again proved that Pogos had indeed become a national security concern.
“That’s very serious… [but] it’s not surprising anymore because billions of pesos are involved in (Pogo) operations,” Villanueva told the Inquirer after the proceedings, which lasted for almost six hours.
“A Chinese national like Guo Hua Ping becoming a mayor is already a national security matter. How much more… the highest position in the police organization being included in the payroll of Pogos?” he pointed out, referring to Guo’s alleged Chinese identity.
Banks’ role in Pogo transactions
For his part, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian has filed a resolution seeking to investigate the possible involvement of banks in the construction and establishment of Pogos in the country.
He filed proposed Senate Resolution No. 1193 calling for an inquiry in aid of legislation on the banks’ apparent failure to flag suspicious Pogo-related transactions.
According to Gatchalian, recent Senate investigations revealed the existence of bank transactions involving companies owned by Guo Hua Ping, also known as Alice Guo, amounting to hundreds of millions of pesos which enabled the construction and establishment of the Pogo hub in Bamban.
“The amount involved is far beyond the financial capacity of the companies as indicated in their financial statements,” he said.
“A remarkable surge in cash flows, check disbursements, and a number of transactions involving the said Guo accounts was highest in 2020, which was highly unusual and suspicious considering that the Covid-19 pandemic paralyzed businesses and economies worldwide,” he added.
He noted that the transactions involved significant amounts of money but were not flagged by the involved banks and financial institutions.
“The failure of these banks to report these dubious transactions raises the matter of the effectiveness of their internal controls and procedures for identifying and reporting suspicious transactions,” he said.