‘Guo as state witness? Only if she tags someone higher’

MANILA, Philippines — Suspended Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac might be considered a state witness if she would spill the beans on those higher than her in the heirarchy of the illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub in her hometown.

Winston John Casio, spokesman for the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), made the statement yesterday as he stressed that any state witness should be the least guilty in the commission of a crime.

“The way we appreciate the evidence on hand, what we have so far as of this time, she is not the ‘least guilty’,” Casio said at a news forum.

Casio said they would not be open to discussions on whether Guo can be considered a state witness unless she would identify other personalities higher than her.

“If she appears to be the least guilty and she would be able to point at other principals higher than her, why not,” he said.

Asked if Guo is the personality on top of the food chain so far in their probe, Casio said they have evidence of that.

He also said they are looking at three other personalities above Guo who, like her, are connected with the Zun Yuan Technology Inc. in Bamban and Lucky South 99 in Porac, Pampanga, suspected illegal POGO hubs.

He did not disclose the identities of the three other personalities, referring to them only as John Does.

The PAOCC has also identified several people connected with government agencies who have been leaking information about impending raids in illegal POGO hubs.

Casio said they will provide the names of the people to the agencies, which he did not identify, for validation.

He said they suspected that information about the raid at Lucky South 99 was leaked after workers at the POGO hub fled before law enforcement authorities arrived to implement a search warrant issued by a court.

There was also another instance wherein lawyers of a POGO firm in Metro Manila were already present at the scene when PAOCC agents and police officers arrived.