Senate set to wrap up POGO, Guo probe

MANILA, Philippines —   The Senate is set to wrap up its yearlong investigation on illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO), Sen. Risa Hontiveros said yesterday.

According to Hontiveros, the investigation on dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo’s involvement in illegal POGOs is the last chapter of the inquiry.

“Our investigation on Guo Hua Ping is the last chapter in our POGO investigation,” Hontiveros told dzXL, referring to Guo’s Chinese name, which the latter has denied before senators who uncovered her alleged fake Filipino citizenship.

Senators looked into Guo’s involvement in the raided POGO hub Zun Yuan Technology while she was Bamban mayor. Guo has since been dismissed from the elective post by the Office of the Ombudsman.

Guo also a quo warranto case after senators blew the lid on her alleged espionage activities and role in forcing trafficked persons to do scams in the POGO hub.

The Senate as early as last year looked into raided POGO hubs, which served as cryptocurrency scam farms. Their investigation took a turn when authorities stumbled upon the POGO hub located just behind the Bamban municipal hall.

Hontiveros said the Senate would conclude the hearing by digging deeper into claims made by self-confessed Chinese spy She Zhijiang in an Al Jazeera documentary that he and Guo worked for the Chinese Communist Party.

The Senate is also inclined to invite accused POGO kingpin Lin Xunhan, alias Lyu Dong, who allegedly knew Guo and is seen as a pioneer in illegal POGOs. Lin was arrested by authorities in Biñan, Laguna last Thursday.

Hontiveros lamented that the Senate could not reach out to She Zhijiang after the latter was put into maximum security prison following the Al Jazeera documentary. She Zhijiang is detained in Thailand for alleged illegal casinos and is fighting extradition to China.

“We have learned from media sources that She, who is charged with illegally operating a casino, is currently unreachable and has been moved to a different prison facility,” Hontiveros said.

“I am holding the Department of Foreign Affairs to its commitment during the latest Senate hearing that it is urgently exhausting all diplomatic and legal channels to