Philippine senate hearing: Alice Guo expected to name figures behind illegal offshore gaming operator
The former mayor says she was a victim.
The Philippines.- Alice Guo, the suspended mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, has seemingly agreed to provide details about key figures behind illegal offshore gaming operators. In an executive session on Tuesday (September 24), she told senators “I am not the mastermind. I can say I’m a victim.”
According to a press release issued by the senate, senior deputy majority leader JV Ejercito said Guo claims to have been a “pawn being exploited by the international crime syndicate.” He has urged her to identify those “most guilty” for the “sake of the victims of offshore gaming-related activities.”
“I’m expecting that Ms. Alice Guo will divulge the real masterminds behind this operation,” Ejercito added, while assuring Guo the senate would be responsible for her safety.
Senator Hontiveros said the contempt citation on Guo’s sister, Shiela, had been lifted. She was transferred to the custody of the Bureau of Immigration.
Allegations of bribes to ex-PNP chief “purely gossip,” PAGCOR official apparently now says
Raul Villanueva, senior vice president for security at the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), appears to have rowed back from his claim that a former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) accepted bribes from offshore gaming operators. According to major general Leo Francisco, the head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) instructed to look into the allegations made during a senate hearing, Villanueva now says the comment was “purely gossip.”
Francisco told The Philippine News Agency: “What he said was [that] he was not referring to anybody and [that] these are just rumours among the intelligence community. But I told him, ‘Sir, the ex-chiefs of the PNP were concerned and this statement became a big concern and issue within the PNP.”
Francisco said the CIDG will no longer proceed with the investigation into Villanueva’s claim. He indicated that he would seek guidance regarding the possibility of pursuing a case against Villanueva. The Council of Chiefs had demanded a public apology from Villanueva if he could not prove his allegation.
