House to summon Alice Guo in next POGO probe

The quad committee at the House of Representatives will summon dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo to attend to its next investigation on the proliferation of criminal activities of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO), in which lawmakers believe she was heavily involved. 

At the fourth hearing of the so-called mega panel on Wednesday, Deputy Speaker David Suarez petitioned that Guo be invited to their next hearing to shed light on issues linking her with illegal POGO operations in her hometown.

“Insomuch as she is involved in what the committee is investigating, and that she is now in the process of coming back to the Philippines, and being an integral resource person to the quad comm, I, therefore, move that we invite Ms. Alice Guo to serve as a resource person to the quad comm,” Suarez said. 

Santa Rosa Rep. Dan Fernandez, chairperson of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety that comprised the quad comm, reckoned that the committee had already sent an invitation to Guo during the early days of the hearing.

“I remember when we conducted the investigation on the POGO with the Committee on Public Order and Games and Amusement, we invited Alice Guo [to] the said joint hearing."

“The issues of the two joint committees were all elevated to the quad comm. Thereby I think there are pending motions with regard to the presence of Ms. Alice Guo,” Fernandez said.

“If that is the case, then the invitation made in the previous committees prior to the creation of quad comm still stands. She has an invitation from this committee and we will coordinate with the Senate as to her availability. " said Surigao del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers, the panel chairperson.

Guo, whose Chinese name is Guo Hua Ping, was apprehended in Tangerang City, Jakarta, Indonesia just before midnight on Tuesday, more than a month following her alleged escape from the Philippines for Malaysia. 

Guo is believed to be the president of Baofu Land Development Inc., an approximately eight-hectare compound behind the Bamban Municipal Hall hosting POGO firms, including Zun Yuan Technology and Hongsheng Gaming Technology Inc.

The said POGOs were raided by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission earlier this year for alleged human trafficking and serious illegal detention and fraudulent cryptocurrency investment operation, respectively.

Guo previously admitted to owning at least 50 percent of Baufo's stock but claimed that she divested such interest through a Deed of Assignment before she assumed office in 2022. 

In August, the Ombudsman said that “the series of acts" made by Guo in relation to the raided POGO hubs in her town merely indicated a "willful intent on her part to violate the law or disregard established rules.”

The Ombudsman’s used these grounds for her dismissal. 

The panel also issued a show-cause order against former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque for failing to appear—for the second time—before the quad comm without an excuse letter. 

Roque, who is also being implicated in POGO, was previously detained for 24 hours at the House of Representatives after supposedly lying about why he skipped its first hearing on 16 August in Porac, Pampanga.

Roque is a client of former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who is also being implicated in POGO operations. Lawmakers suspect Roque is the legal head of the Lucky South 99.