MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives has approved the Quad committee report which calls for a continued probe into former Bamban Mayor Alice Guo’s potential breach of anti-corruption statutes. Additionally, they will look into Senator Christopher "Bong" Go’s connection with the incentive program financed by taxes from Philippine offshore gambling companies (Pogo).
On Tuesday evening, during the House meeting, the four committee heads unveiled the Quad Committee report.
A version of the committee report distributed to journalists indicated that among the suggestions were calls to conduct further investigations into the connections these individuals have with Pogos:
- previous spokesman for the president Harry Roque
- Katherine Cassandra Ong, an incorporator of Lucky South 99
- Guo
- Pangasinan Mayor Liseldo Calugay of Sual
- Previous mayor of Mexico, Pampanga, Teddy Tumang
- Willie Ong is the incorporator of Empire 999 Realty Corp.
- Empire 999 Realty Corp., which was incorporated by Aedy Tai Yang.
- previous presidential economics advisor Michael Yang
- Go
- Yang’s brother Tony Yang
"As stated in the report, 'Based on the information gathered by the Joint Committee from several experts during their hearings about Senator Bong Go, the committee has the authority to delve deeper into these claims,' " the document states.
"On August 28, 2024, during a hearing, PCOL Jovie Espenido verified that Bong Go gave monetary incentives to law enforcement personnel who effectively carried out former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s anti-drug campaign. These funds were sourced partly from POGO organizations," the statement reads.
Claims that earnings from Pogos were utilized to compensate policemen involved in killing drug suspects emerged for the first time on August 7, 2024. This statement was made by Manila’s Sixth District Representative Bienvenido Abante Jr., during an inquiry about why his committee—the Committee on Human Rights—was part of the Quad Committee.
As reported by Abante, they obtained intelligence indicating that funds from Pogos were utilized to compensate law enforcement officials involved in eliminating individuals suspected of involvement with drugs.
On August 28th during a committee hearing, Espenido mentioned that a former mayor of Misamis Occidental informed him about using funds from the small town lottery, Pogos, and intelligence budgets to provide incentives for police officers involved in drug crackdowns.
READ: Espenido stated: Pogo funds were utilized to incentivize anti-narcotics teams.
Ultimately, Royina Garma, a recognized associate of President Duterte and ex-Police Colonel, acknowledged that she received a call from him in May 2022. The discussion revolved around recreating the Davao approach—an incentive program active during Duterte’s tenure as Mayor of Davao, which provided financial rewards to law enforcement personnel for eliminating suspected drug offenders.
Garma mentioned that the Davao model included giving cash incentives between PHP 20,000 and PHP 1 million to policemen who eliminated suspected drug offenders. Additionally, she stated that this proposition was forwarded to Duterte via Go.
READ: Garma states that the Davao drug war model, including the reward system, is being implemented across the whole of PH
On December 18, 2024, the four-member panel issued a preliminary committee report suggesting the pursuit of charges related to crimes against humanity against Duterte and his principal associates due to their involvement in the extrajudicial killings that occurred as part of the war on drugs.
Among those whom the committee aimed to indict were individuals like Go for breaching Republic Act No. 9851, also known as the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.
Based on the concluding report from the four-person panel, adding Go to the roster of those facing charges under Republic Act No. 9851 is justified because he allegedly participated in a reward scheme associated with extrajudicial executions.
Furthermore, because of his strong association with ex-President Rodrigo Roa Duterte as part of his coalition and based on evidence collected during the hearings, Senator Christopher Lawrence 'Bong' Go ought to be considered a co-conspirator in violations of Republic Act 9851, also known as the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law," stated the committee.
"This addition is warranted considering the grave accusations about his involvement in a system that allegedly encouraged police activities during the contentious war on drugs," it further stated.
Concerning Guo, the committee stated that she may face legal action for espionage as well as for breaching Republic Act No. 3019, also known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The quadruple committee stated that further investigations must be carried out concerning Guo Hua Ping also known as Alice Guo. Multiple pieces of information about her have yet to be confirmed, such as claims suggesting she might be a spy and her alleged ties with Chinese mafia groups. Should the evidence support these serious accusations, suitable legal actions like filing charges related to espionage under Article 117 of the Revised Penal Code should be considered for potential criminal proceedings," they added.
"The behavior and activities of Guo Hua Ping, known as Alice Leal Guo, who serves as the Mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, must also undergo scrutiny for potential violations under Republic Act No. 3019 related to graft and corrupt practices. This includes looking into possible instances of document tampering and perjury," the statement further noted.
Guo attracted nationwide focus following a Senate inquiry where she was grilled regarding the Pogo hub in Bamban, an operation that was shut down due to alleged human trafficking activities.
In the end, it came to light that Guo was connected to the Pogo hub since she formerly led Baofu Land Development Inc., the company that rented out land to Pogo operator Zun Yuan.
As stated by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Baofu, through President Guo, acquired eight plots of land in the municipality back in February 2019.
Guo asserts that she has relinquished her stake in Baofu; however, the DILG contends that the sum of ₱2.5 million is "significantly inconsistent with her investment in Baofu, estimated at around eight hectares of land."
READ: The DILG has filed corruption charges against Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac.
On August 13, 2024, the Office of the Ombudsman declared that they had directed Guo’s removal from office due to serious disciplinary issues stemming from her deliberate efforts to break the law. As an official responsible for overseeing a large estate adjacent to the town hall which was found to be harboring illicit Pogo operations, she faced this severe action.
Concerns arose that those operating warehouses for storing illicit substances might have been connected with POGOs, leading to invitations extended to people associated with offshore gambling activities, like Ong and Guo.
In time, claims surfaced alleging that Guo was working as a Chinese spy, which sparked worries about national safety. mcm