Aired (August 24, 2024): Noong Marso 2024, sinalakay ng Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission o PAOCC ang isang Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator o POGO hub sa Bamban, Tarlac. Naging pugad raw kasi ito ng iba’t ibang uri ng scam, human trafficking at iba pang krimen. Kapansin-pansin na nasa likuran lang mismo ng munisipyo ng Bamban ang hub at ang lupang kinatitirikan nito, nasa pangalan ng dating alkalde ng Bamban na si Alice Guo. Ano ang koneksyon nito sa kanya?
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00:00It all started when Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, or PAO, received a tip
00:09about the victims of torture, illegal detention, and human trafficking in Bambang, Tarlac.
00:19I received a call from the Malaysian Embassy.
00:23They also have a national that is stopping people from leaving there, also hostages.
00:31When the information about human trafficking and other illegal activities in Bambang, Tarlac was complete,
00:39the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission organized an operation.
00:44On March 13, the PAO's operating unit went to Bambang, Tarlac.
00:53Emergency!
00:55Until March 13, 2024, a van was chased by the authorities on the Pampanga Highway.
01:01This is it, Sir.
01:04This is it, just move it.
01:10Okay, okay, you, you, you.
01:15Don't run.
01:17Don't run.
01:19When the van was caught and blocked,
01:22this is where they saw the foreign employees of the PAO.
01:28When the sun rose,
01:30the authorities went straight to the so-called headquarters of those caught in Bambang, Tarlac.
01:36It was made up of 37 buildings.
01:39Their rescue was not less than 800 foreign employees.
01:44In the investigation of the PAO,
01:47it was revealed that Zun Yuan Technology was involved in the case.
01:51We don't call them POGO hubs anymore.
01:54I'll call them SCUM hubs.
01:57Yes.
01:59The legal ones are different.
02:01But what's surprising here is that the ones we raided lately,
02:05SKK, SmartPep, Bambang,
02:08all of them are legal.
02:10All of the illegal ones are hiding there.
02:13All of them.
02:15All of them.
02:17All of them.
02:19All of the illegal ones are hiding there.
02:23In Impapawid,
02:25the vastness and size of the compound is noticeable.
02:28There are houses, dormitories, villas,
02:31and even an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
02:34When the reporter's notebook entered the POGO hub,
02:37there were still foreigners who worked and lived here.
02:42Inside the houses,
02:44the SCUM farm can be found.
02:45Here, you can see various computers
02:49that were sometimes used to deceive victims
02:52from different countries, including China.
02:57Love Scam,
02:59Investment Scam,
03:01and Cryptocurrency Scam were found here.
03:03Every employee uses a script to be able to scam.
03:08This begins with the profiling,
03:11the search for the victim.
03:12It says here,
03:14after adding to WhatsApp,
03:17you must reply to your customer's message in time.
03:20Real time, so to speak.
03:22If a customer is slow to reply
03:24or doesn't reply to your customer,
03:26just delete him and don't waste your time.
03:28Look for a new one.
03:30Yes, move on right away.
03:32In the villas of the so-called Big Boss,
03:34there are garage cars parked in the garages.
03:38Inside,
03:40there are expensive furniture
03:42that can be found.
03:46In each villa,
03:48the value is estimated at P44 million,
03:50according to PAOK.
03:52When the operation was launched,
03:54some questionable details about Pogo Hub were published here,
03:58especially this location,
04:00which is just behind the municipality of Bamban.
04:04When PAOK investigated the property,
04:06it turns out that the mayor of Bamban,
04:08Alice Wu,
04:10was not involved.
04:12This is where the investigation of the Senate began.
04:15We are now one of the fastest-growing hotspots
04:20for scams around the world.
04:24The chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women and Children,
04:27Senator Risa Ontiveros,
04:29was able to view the reporter's notebook.
04:31Apparently, after the raid,
04:33on site,
04:34she was able to obtain documents
04:36that she was still paying utilities bills,
04:41salaries of maintenance employees,
04:44and others.
04:46So, there was a concern.
04:48Why was a mayor
04:50so involved here in Pogo Hub?
04:55She was the one who walked the papers
04:57of Zone 1
04:59to be able to do business there.
05:02In the Senate,
05:04the hub is located
05:06under the company,
05:08Baofu Land Development Inc.
05:10At the beginning,
05:12Baofu was not there.
05:14I bought the property for the installment.
05:16When I bought the property,
05:18that's the only time I invited
05:20the Chinese investors
05:23to invest in the land.
05:25But she denied
05:27that she was involved in this illegal operation.
05:30We were not involved in any Pogo operation,
05:32Your Honor.
05:34While the investigation was ongoing,
05:36the questions were centered
05:38on Guo's identity.
05:40Mayor Guo has no hospital record of birth.
05:43Her certificate of life birth
05:45was registered
05:47when she was 17 years old.
05:49Based on Guo's birth certificate,
05:51her father is Filipino.
05:53But this is different
05:55from some documents
05:57related to their business.
05:59My father is Chinese.
06:00Okay, he is Chinese.
06:02Where is he from in China?
06:04He is from Fujian.
06:06If your father is Chinese,
06:09why is it stated in your birth certificate
06:12that your father, Angelito Guo,
06:14is Filipino?
06:16Why is that?
06:18Your Honor, Angelito
06:20is my father's Filipino name.
06:22The information about Guo's mother
06:24is also different.
06:26The first answer
06:28in the first hearing
06:30is that her mother and father
06:32are married.
06:34It was found in a registry
06:36of live births.
06:38But in her other statements,
06:40as well as in her interview,
06:42it was found that she is a housewife.
06:45Based on your investigation,
06:47who are the parents of Alice Guo?
06:49It points to the same pair,
06:51Angelito Guo
06:53and Amelia Leal.
06:55Unfortunately,
06:57both do not have a birth certificate
06:58nor a marriage certificate.
07:00In the hearing,
07:02where did she grow up?
07:04I grew up in Farm Your Honor.
07:06My father hid me.
07:08I grew up on my own.
07:10In spite of what she said,
07:12she stayed in the farm for several years.
07:18In the election of 2022,
07:20Alice Guo's name suddenly disappeared
07:22and the mayor of Bambang ran away.
07:29In the subsequent investigation
07:31of Guo in the Senate,
07:33he repeatedly said
07:35that he is a simple citizen.
07:37You have assets of almost 300 million pesos,
07:39Mayor, so for me,
07:41he is not just a simple person.
07:43In the Statement of Assets,
07:45Liabilities and Net Worth,
07:47or SALEN issued by Mayor Guo
07:49by the Senate,
07:51it was declared that he owns
07:53three dump trucks
07:55worth 2 million pesos each.
07:56A motor vehicle worth
07:5811 million pesos
08:00and a helicopter worth
08:0260 million pesos.
08:04I really want to do business
08:06with the chopper.
08:08I will make it like an air taxi.
08:10However, it did not push through.
08:12I just sold it.
08:14His cash in bank is 200 million pesos.
08:16He also declared liabilities
08:18of 250 million pesos.
08:20In the documents from
08:22the Securities and Exchange Commission
08:24or SEC issued in the hearing,
08:26it was found out that
08:28before Guo entered politics,
08:30he was already an incorporator
08:32and major shareholder
08:34of 11 companies since 2010.
08:36He has an embroidery business,
08:38meat shop, slaughterhouse,
08:40smelting plant,
08:42and farm registered by Guo.
08:44Mayor Guo is also an incorporator
08:46in Baofu Land Development Incorporated,
08:48the land owned by
08:50ZUN U1 Technology Incorporated.
08:53The Senate and the authorities
08:54in investigating Guo
08:56in the following hearings
08:58are gradually clarifying
09:00what his true identity is.
09:02I am a homeschooled person,
09:04Your Honor.
09:06Of course, Guo is not a homeschooled person.
09:08He studied in a private Chinese school
09:10in Quezon City,
09:12except for the first things he said
09:14in the hearing.
09:16As far as I remember,
09:18there was no farm in our school.
09:20It was all buildings.
09:21According to the investigation of NBI,
09:23fingerprints of Alice Leal Guo
09:25and a Chinese national,
09:27Guo Huaping,
09:29were found.
09:31We are 100% sure
09:33that Alice Leal Guo and Guo Huaping
09:35are one and the same person.
09:37According to records,
09:39Guo Huaping arrived in the country
09:41on January 12, 2003.
09:43We cannot say
09:45the basis of the fingerprints
09:47or the source of the fingerprints
09:49because as we speak,
09:51there is no document at all
09:53for that matter.