Mayor Guo, 13 others face human trafficking complaint

MANILA, Philippines — A criminal complaint for qualified human trafficking has been filed against suspended mayor Alice Guo and 13 others, over their alleged involvement in the operation of a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub in Bamban, Tarlac that was raided last March.

The complaint was filed by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group before the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday.

Also charged in the complaint were former Technology and Resource Center deputy director general Dennis Cunanan and other corporate officers of the Zun Yuan Technology Center.

“What was filed today is still only a complaint. It will still go through a process in the DOJ. It will still undergo a preliminary investigation, wherein the respondents, including Mayor Alice Guo, will be allowed to state their side,” Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking Undersecretary-in-charge Nicholas Ty said at a press conference.

“The complaint is not yet in court. This will still undergo a process, and we don’t want to get ahead of the prosecutors, who will independently conduct their preliminary investigation,” he noted.

Following the filing of the complaint, Ty said the DOJ is now in the process of filing a request for an immigration lookout bulletin order (ILBO).

“Since the complaint has been filed, we are already processing the ILBO. This will just go through the internal process of the DOJ. But, hopefully, by next week, the secretary could sign the ILBO,” Ty added.

An ILBO “directs all immigration officers to closely report to the DOJ and the National Bureau of Investigation any attempt by the subjects to leave the country.”

In a statement released yesterday, Guo denounced the allegations and asserted that “mere connections to companies or individuals do not suffice as grounds for labeling someone a conspirator.”

“Having connections to companies or individuals, especially when vague, is not enough to link someone to a case, particularly one involving human trafficking,” she said.

Guo reiterated that she has no involvement in or participation with Zun Yuan Technology Inc. or any other