ASEAN HEADLINE-MONEY LAUNDERING | MANILA: Senate orders arrest of Mayor Guo, others
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate has ordered the arrest of suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo, members of her family and two others for contempt for refusing to participate in the Senate investigation on criminal activities involving offshore gaming operators.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who presided over the investigation as chair of the Senate committee on women and children, signed the July 11 arrest order that was approved by Senate President Francis Escudero.
Guo was ordered arrested “for unduly refusing to appear, despite due notices,” at the Senate committee hearing on reports on human trafficking, torture, serious illegal detention and other serious crimes committed at Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hubs.
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Guo has skipped two Senate hearings, citing her deteriorating mental health condition, but failed to give a medical certificate to back up her claim.
The suspended mayor is linked to two POGO hubs – the Zun Yuan Technology raided in Bamban, Tarlac last March, as well as its predecessor Hongsheng Gaming Technology.
Her parents Jian Zhong Guo and Wen Yi Lin, and siblings Seimen, Wesley and Sheila were also ordered arrested for their refusal to attend the hearings on their alleged involvement in POGO crimes.
In a dwIZ interview yesterday, Hontiveros said the Senate sergeant-at-arms would serve the arrest order on the resource persons with the help of other law enforcement agencies.
Based on information gathered by the Senate, Guo’s parents are in China, while her siblings are still in the
Philippines, Hontiveros said.
If the Guos still refuse to participate in the committee hearings, they would be physically brought to the Senate to attend the next scheduled hearing on July 29, Hontiveros said.
“Their refusal to attend the hearings is a disrespect to the Senate as an institution. It is their obligation to comply with the subpoenas and respect the law,” she said.
She also lauded the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) for its freeze order on 90 bank accounts – including 36 under Mayor Guo’s name – which allegedly contained billions of pesos in dirty money for funding illegal POGO operations in Tarlac.
In a separate dwIZ interview, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III advised Guo to just attend the next hearings instead of waiting for her arrest.
“She can bring her lawyers and can cite her right against self-incrimination. Hiding will lead to more problems. She is a mayor. No mayor should hide from a Senate hearing,” Pimentel, a lawyer, said.
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The Senate has also ordered the arrest of Dennis Cunanan, the former Technology and Livelihood Resource Center chief who was thrice convicted in the pork barrel scam.
Cunanan was implicated as authorized representative for both Hongsheng and Lucky South 99, the raided POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga.
Likewise ordered arrested is Nancy Gamo, Mayor Guo’s accountant named in the incorporation papers of the Tarlac POGO hubs and in the Guo family-related companies.
