NBI files criminal raps vs. Alice Guo over Pangasinan properties

UNCOOPERATIVE. Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo attends the probe on illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators at the Senate in Pasay City on Monday (Sept. 9, 2024). She was cited in contempt for continuously refusing to answer most of the questions from the panel. (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)

By Benjamin Pulta, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Wednesday filed a criminal case against former Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, a.k.a. Guo Hua Ping, before the Department of Justice (DOJ) in connection with three commercial properties in Sual, Pangasinan.

In an interview with reporters, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) spokesperson Ferdinand Lavin said the agency, along with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), filed a joint complaint against Guo for falsification of public documents under Section 171 of the Revised Penal Code; violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act (RA) 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; and violation of Section 4(1) in relation to Section 6(c), 6(i) and Section 10(l) of RA 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking Act, as amended.

“In the acquisition of these properties, sinabi ni Alice Guo na siya ay si Alice Guo (Alice Guo claimed to be Alice Guo) and that she is a Filipino citizen when, in fact and we were able to establish, that she is not Alice Guo,” Lavin said.

“She is Guo Hua Ping and she is not a Filipino citizen and she is a Chinese citizen on the three deeds of sale,” he said.

The NBI official described the properties as “large” and were used by Guo and her associates for Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGOs).

These would now be subjected to forfeiture proceedings, he said.

Guo already faces charges of qualified human trafficking, tax evasion and money laundering among other charges over the June 2024 raid on a POGO hub in Bamban where 800 Filipino and foreign workers were rescued.

Lavin said the NBI and PAOCC also filed before the DOJ a complaint against 38 persons including seven officers of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) for violating RA 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking Act, as amended, in connection with the alleged criminal operations of Zun Yuan Technology Center, a POGO in Bamban that was raided and shut down by authorities.

The PAGCOR officers named in the complaint are Mark Christian Lobos, Roldan Palma, Marvin Panganiban, Ronnie Sadang, Anthony Taylo, Randy Pasion and Mac Jerwin Austria.

Lavin said they were charged for “closing their eyes” on the scamming activities taking place in the POGO hub, and on the plight of the employees who were exploited and forced into these activities.