Hontiveros closes POGO probe, reveals 'web' of involved personalities
Sen. Risa Hontiveros closed the Senate’s probe into the illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO), exposing a web of people who “used POGOs for their own selfish interests, their own personal gain, all at the expense of the Filipino people.”
Hontiveros on Tuesday, Nov. 26, revealed a slide containing personalities involved in illegal POGO as found by the Senate Committee during its final hearing on the issue.
Included in the web are dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo (later confirmed by the NBI to be Chinese national Guo Hua Ping), self-confessed Chinese spy She Zhijiang, alleged Communist Party of China handler and recruiter Ma Dong Li, former president Rodrigo Duterte, and his presidential adviser Michael Yang.
Guo's family, including her "sister" Sheila, brother Wesley, mother Lin Wen Yi, and father Jian Zhong Guo are also on the list. They are said to be co-incorporators in multiple businesses. Sual Mayor Dong Caluag, Guo's alleged partner, is also included in the web.
Wesley's girlfriend, Cassie Li Ong, an authorized representative of Lucky South 99, was implicated in the controversy. Duanren Wu, the incorporator of Whirlwind Corporation, where Lucky South 99 is located, was also named, along with former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who served as the corporation's legal counsel and assisted Ong with Lucky South 99 matters.
Apart from them, more co-incorporators of Guo in Baofu Land were named. They are Yuzheng Can, Huang Zhiyang, Zhang Ruijin, Lin Baoyin, and JP Samson. Ruijin and Baoyin are both involved in the biggest money laundering case in Singapore.
Yang's siblings, Tony and Hongjian, are also said to be part of the POGO fiasco. Tony is the owner of a POGO in Cagayan that uses Xionwei Technology as a service provider, while Hongjian has a joint account on Hongsheng's Yuzheng Can.
Lin Weixiong, another co-incorporator of Yang in Paili Holdings Corporation, and his wife, Rose Nono Lin, a co-incorporator of Pharmally Biological Incorporated and registered owner of POGO Xionwei Technology, were also implicated. Gerald Cruz, Rose's co-incorporator in Pharmally and incorporator of Full Win Group of Companies, was also named.
Pharmally was previously involved in a scandal related to overpriced medical supplies sold to the Philippine government during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It further deepens what we already know: Michael Yang is a key actor in Chinese intelligence operations here. Michael Yang na sangkot sa Pharmally, and if the reports are accurate, sa drug operations dito," Hontiveros said in her statement.
The government 'allowed these travesties to go unchecked and to fester'
Hontiveros, however, noted that the objective was never to prove each listed individual guilty.
“Despite the many heinous crimes unearthed by this committee, including large-scale scamming, corruption, kidnapping, torture, prostitution, and human trafficking, our objective has never been to prove any single individual guilty,” she said.
Instead, Hontiveros emphasized, it was the country’s very system of laws and policies that were put on trial, as they “allowed these travesties to go unchecked and to fester.”
“Inabuso ang ating birth certificate registration, immigration procedures, passport at visa applications, pagtayo ng negosyo sa pagalan ng kumpanya, bank secrecy, at pati ang pribilehiyong lumahok sa eleksyon at maging kawani ng gobyerno. Ngayon, lumalabas na pati ang demokrasya at pambansang seguridad natin ay nailagay na sa panganib,” she said.
The POGO crackdown began when the Department of the Interior and Local Government was called to investigate Guo’s alleged links to illegal POGO activities in Bamban, Tarlac.
Guo was not present during the final hearing due to a schedule conflict.
The senator also singled out the dismissed mayor during her closing remarks.
“Guo Hua Ping, this committee has unmasked you as a Chinese national, mocking our Filipino identity to amass wealth and commit crimes against true Filipinos,” she said, adding that she leaves Guo’s fate up to the courts.
“I look forward to the day you face justice,” she said.
On November 8, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order No. 74, banning offshore and internet gaming in the country. According to Hontiveros, this contains certain ambiguities that need immediate clarification.
“Ang mga POGO within licensed casinos, at ang mga POGO sa ecozones, even service providers to foreign POGOs must be banned,” the senator said, noting that she is willing to file an amendment to the Anti-POGO bill should it remain unclear to many.
The Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality’s illegal POGO probe ended on November 26, Tuesday.
