Hontiveros: Still sorting out Filipino, Chinese identities Guo named

Senator Risa Hontiveros during a press conference on Thursday, October 10, 2024, at the Senate media room. —Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo has named at least 10 or fewer Filipino and Chinese individuals involved in the operations of illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) in the country according to Sen. Risa Hontiveros.

The opposition senator leading the probe on Guo’s Pogo ties said the dismissed local official disclosed the names during the two executive sessions held by the chamber’s panel on women.

Names mentioned by Guo are still being verified, along with other information she divulged.

READ: Alice Guo arrested in Indonesia – DOJ, NBI

“It’s a mixture of truth, it’s also a mixture of falsity. So, the names are still being verified by us. I can’t count because I don’t know which one is true and how many of them are true and how many are not true,” said Hontiveros in a press conference on Thursday after she was asked how many names Guo mentioned and whether or not the panel believes if she is telling the truth or inventing lies.

“As soon as we finalize the committee report, we will disclose who we really think have really participated, not just based on what she said, but based on what she said and the other evidence we gathered—including the perpetrators of Pogo here in [the] Philippines and the accomplices in Guo’s escape,” she added.

Pressed to disclose how many names Guo mentioned, Hontiveros said 10 or less.

Earlier, Hontiveros said the dismissed Bamban mayor revealed a “crucial personality” linked to the country’s Pogo operations, adding that this corroborates a theory that the committee “shared a month ago.”

No other details were disclosed regarding this “crucial personality.” Despite the revelation, Hontiveros remained unsatisfied with Guo’s disclosures.

Guo has been the subject of scrutiny after the Senate panel on women bared her ties to illegal pogo firm Zun Yuan Technology Inc.

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.