Former Mayor Alice Guo Attends Senate Hearing on Illegal POGOs
ALICE GUO – The former mayor of Bamban, Tarlac declared herself as a “victim” in the illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming operations in the Philippines.
Former Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Guo has been transferred to Pasig City Jail upon the orders of the Regional Trial Court in the city. It was on Monday when she was transferred from the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Facility in Camp Crame.
Under the custody of the PNP, Guo stayed in the detention room that was previously occupied by former Senator Leila de Lima. She faced drug charges which were dismissed. The former lawmaker was detained for 7 years.
In the PNP Custodial Facility, the former Mayor stayed in a room with one bed, a set of table and chairs, a ceiling fan, and its own bathroom. In Pasig City Jail, she shared the cell with 6 inmates and Guo was shocked by the condition of cell.
The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) said that Guo is “mostly compliant” on his first night of detention at the Pasig City Jail. Guo was initially isolated with inmates who are being treated for TB amid a suspected lung infection based on the result of her x-ray.
After the former Mayor tested negative for TB, she was transferred to a regular cell. Recently, she appeared in a Senate hearing.
At the Senate hearing, former Mayor Alice Guo denied that she is the mastermind of the illegal POGO operations. She also declared herself as a “victim” and she believes that the lawmakers already know who is really behind the illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming operations in the country.
“Di po ako mastermind. Masasabi ko po isa po akong victim… I think sa tagal po ng investigation, alam na rin po ng committee…who is really at the back of everything,” the former Mayor said.
Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, the former Mayor was asked if she was used in the illegal POGO operations to which she answered in the negative. According to her, if she has helped, it is because she is a helpful person. She stressed that she is not involved in the illegal POGO operations.
In the previous hearings led by the Senate and the House of Representatives, Guo asserted that she is a Filipino. It is amid the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) having identified that she and Chinese national Guo Hua Ping have the same fingerprints.