Guo, others face 560 years in jail if guilty of money laundering

By Wilnard Bacelonia, Philippine News Agency

Hontiveros said at the start of the hearing that she expects the panel to discover soon who are the people who helped the Guo siblings and Ong put up and connect to POGOs. (PNA file photo by Avito Dalan)

MANILA – The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) on Thursday said dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo and her co-accused could be imprisoned for around 560 years if found guilty of the money laundering charges.

“Under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, the commission of money laundering carries with it the penalty of imprisonment. For Sections A, B, and C, from 7 years to 14 years per count,” lawyer Adrian Arpon of the AMLC told the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

The AMLC, together with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), has filed 87 counts of money laundering against Alice, her sibling Shiela Guo, Cassandra Li Ong, and 28 others for their alleged involvement in the operation of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

After getting the confirmation from Arpon, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros, who chairs the subcommittee handling the inquiry, informed Shiela Guo that she, and other accused, will be imprisoned for more than a lifetime.

“So, kahit kunin natin yung 7 years minimum times 87, eh medyo matagal-tagal po yun. Ano po ba yun? 560 years more or less? Thereabout. So, medyo lampas na po sa isang lifetime kahit dun sa minimum 7 years, kahit sa isang count lamang (So, even if we take the 7 years minimum times 87, that’s quite a long time. What is that? 560 years more or less? Thereabout. So, it’s a bit more than a lifetime at least 7 years, even in one count),” Hontiveros said.

“Pag-isipan niyo po sana nang mabuti Ms. Shiela yung narinig niyong sagot ng AMLC sa atin (Please think carefully Ms. Shiela about what we’ve heard from AMLC),” she said.

Hontiveros said at the start of the hearing that she expects the panel to discover soon who are the people who helped the Guo siblings and Ong put up and connect to POGOs.

“Slowly we are seeing the full extent of the criminal activities of this sham and dismissed mayor. At malapit na rin nating maungkat sino ang mga tumulong, nagpayaman, nag-enable, at sa mga nakalipas na buwan at linggo, kumupkop sa kanya (And we will soon find out who helped, enriched themselves, enabled, and in the past months and weeks, sheltered her),” she said.

Meanwhile, Ong was not able to appear before the second hearing after her blood pressure suddenly dropped during one of the Quadcomm hearings at the House of Representatives.

In a letter to the Senate subcommittee, House Committee on Dangerous Drugs Secretary Arturo Felix Catarata said they have approved the request of the Senate for Ong to appear before the inquiry but will not be able to make it because of health reasons.

“During our own public hearing today, Ms. Ong’s blood sugar and blood pressure went so low that the Joint Committee decided to suspend the hearing and excuse her from testifying upon the advice of the attending medical doctors of the House of Representatives,” the letter read.

Catarata said doctors recommended Ong’s confinement in a hospital, which might require two to three days to stabilize her health.