Guo ‘ties’ to Chinese criminals bared
Given Guo’s alleged connection to criminals, Hontiveros welcomed the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s removal of the mayor’s power over the local police in Bamban
Daily TribuneGiven Guo’s alleged connection to criminals, Hontiveros welcomed the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s removal of the mayor’s power over the local police in Bamban
(File Photo)
Bamban Mayor Alice Guo has “clear” ties to Chinese criminals, Senator Risa Hontiveros said on Tuesday. Hontiveros revealed that Guo’s fellow incorporators in her company — Baofu Land Development Inc. — were all facing criminal cases.
In the documents Baofu submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2019, Hontiveros said the incorporators included Guo, Filipino national Rachel Joan Malonzo Carreon, Cypriot national Zhiyang Huang, Chinese national Zhang Ruijin, and Dominican national Baoying Lin.
According to Hontiveros, Ruijin was convicted last month after he was linked to the “largest money laundering case in Singapore,” while Lin was also facing charges that she did not elaborate on.
She cited a report by Channel News Asia which said that Ruijin had $41 million in assets overseas, including shareholdings in a Philippine real estate development company.
“Mayor Guo has so many red flags. She doesn’t have a clear record in the Philippines. Is this why she is able to afford her lavish lifestyle?” Hontiveros said.
“Did the money she used to buy helicopters and luxury cars come from criminals and fugitives?” she continued, recalling Guo’s previous revelation that her friends had helped her during the 2022 elections.
Given Guo’s alleged connection to criminals, Hontiveros welcomed the removal by the Department of the Interior and Local Government of her power over the Bamban police force.
She noted that Guo could have used her power to protect her “criminal friends.”
“The mayor should no longer have access to our police if she is also a protector of criminals,” she said.
“Even if she says she divested from Baofu before she ran for office, the fact remains that she has ties to these criminals,” she said.
Meanwhile, Senator Win Gatchalian urged local government units hosting Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) to flush out illegal establishments in their localities following the raid on an illegal hospital allegedly catering to victims of POGO-related crimes.
“The business permit or the mayor’s permit is precisely to enable LGUs concerned to monitor and keep track of all businesses operating within their localities,” he said.
Gatchalian lamented that “POGOs are creating an underground illegal community” in the country.
Thus, he said, LGUs should take a more active role in monitoring local establishments and ensure that they can make a clean sweep of their localities “as far as illegal establishments are concerned.”
He also urged the DILG, which supervises LGUs, to take a more active role in overseeing LGUs.
“There should be a sense of urgency in terms of investigating and fact-finding by the DILG,” Gatchalian stressed.
