Acorda’s link to Guos, POGO bared at Senate hearing

Former Philippine National Police chief Benjamin Acorda Jr.’s connection with former Bamban mayor Alice Guo and Tony Yang, both alleged to be involved in illegal gaming operations, came to light on Tuesday.

This, after several photos of him were shown during the resumption of the hearing of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality joint with Migrant Workers and Public Order and Dangerous Drugs on Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGOs) in Bamban, Tarlac and the alleged ties of Guo with POGOs.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, who presided over the hearing, flashed photos of Acorda with Yang, the elder brother of Michael Yang, the economic adviser of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who was implicated in the Pharmally scandal.

Hontiveros then asked Yang if he is friends with PNP officials, including Acorda, who served as PNP chief from 24 April 2023 until his extended retirement on 31 March 2024.

Responding to the senator’s query, Yang said he happened to know Acorda through a business federation in Cagayan, where most of his businesses are located.

“I got to know them through the Cagayan Business Federation because as a member of the federation, of course, we have moments when we get to meet these officials, especially when we need some help for the safety of our community,” he said in Chinese as translated by the Senate’s interpreter.

According to Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, Acorda served as a regional director for Northern Mindanao, which covers the province of Cagayan de Oro. The claim was substantiated by Yang.

“Yes, when he was in Cagayan as regional director, we know each other,” said Yang, who earlier admitted to senators faking his Filipino citizenship through a late-registered Filipino birth certificate.

Yang, whose real name is Yang Jianxin, claimed he obtained his birth certificate with the help of his grandfather to facilitate their businesses in the country. He was arrested last week at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 for being an undesirable alien.

The Senate panel invited a Chinese interpreter for Yang, who said not to be fluent in English, Filipino, and Bisaya, a claim senators believed to be a lie.

“I can't believe that you've been in the Philippines for a quarter of a century, including in Cagayan de Oro, and you still don't speak Bisaya or Filipino fluently. I'm not crazy to believe that," Hontiveros said.

Yang, who also admitted using a Filipino name Antonio Maestrado Lim, said he has been staying in the Philippines since 1998 or 1999—around 26 years.

Hontiveros also flaunted a photo of Acorda with Sual, Pangasinan Mayor Liseldo “Dong” Calugay and Wesley Guo, brother of Guo, also known as Guo Hua Ping.

For his part, Calugay said the photo was taken when he paid Acorda a visit at his office in Camp Crame in Quezon City, where the headquarters of the PNP is situated.

“We paid him a visit,” said Calugay, the alleged boyfriend of Guo, who was also believed to have facilitated her escape from the country last July.

The local chief executive said he visited Acorda since he once served as chief of police in his town.

“He [Wesley] joined us. He also just wanted to see the highest official of the PNP,” Calugay told the panel when asked why Wesley was with him during his visit to Acorda.

Acorda’s name was mentioned at the Senate hearing at a time that a former PNP chief was rumored to have had a hand in the escape of Guo and her siblings in July.

Council of Chiefs

Prior to this, Senator Ronald “Bato” De la Rosa called out Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation Senior Vice President for Security and Monitoring Cluster Raul Villanueva, a retired Armed Forces of the Philippines general, for making an “irresponsible statement” last hearing.

“This is a sweeping accusation which maligns and brings dishonor to all of us, former chiefs, who have dedicated the best years of our lives in the service of the Filipino nation,” said Dela Rosa as he read the statement of the Council of Chiefs.

The Council of Chiefs is composed of former PNP chiefs.

“Although we are now retired, we continuously uphold our integrity to the highest standards and our solemn pledge to serve and protect our country and people,” Dela Rosa stressed.

To recall, Villanueva last week said that a former PNP chief was involved in Guo’s escape, citing a “rumor” within the intelligence community.

He, however, noted that the information has not yet been validated by the intelligence community.

Dela Rosa, through the statement from the Council of Chiefs, demanded a public apology from Villanueva should the information turn out to be false.

At the latter part of the hearing, Villanueva clarified that he did not intend to put malice on former PNP chiefs, adding that he dismissed the information as a mere rumor.

“That is why I qualified it earlier in the last Senate hearing that it was just a raw information. I don’t want to put malice on our [former] chief PNPs,” he said.

“I’m sorry if that was the interpretation of our former PNP chiefs, but I hold them in respect because each of these chief PNP has their own legacy in the PNP institution,” he added.

At this point, Dela Rosa asked Villanueva if he was already issuing a public apology, which the latter affirmed.

“Yes, your honor to say it very bluntly. In the last session, I already qualified it as raw information; and therefore, it has no bearing at all yet,” he said.