Nearly P5 Billion Deposited to Alice Guo Bank Accounts; Senate Unveils Her Link to POGO Hub

September 13, 2024 Philippines Crime & Legal

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian revealed on September 9, 2024, that dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo had nearly PHP 5 billion deposited into her personal bank accounts and two companies from 2018 to 2024. The disclosure came during a Senate hearing on illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).

Gatchalian presented bank records and financial documents indicating that Guo was an “active participant” in the establishment of the POGO hub in her town, which was raided and shut down in March. He highlighted that the former mayor, under the name Guo Hua Ping, had significant involvement from the inception of the POGO hub through her tenure as mayor.

“The documents we discovered prove that Guo Hua Ping is not an ordinary personality in this POGO hub,” Gatchalian was quoted as saying in a report published by the Inquirer. “She had an active participation from the start all the way when she became mayor. These pieces of evidence are very strong. Even if you refuse to talk, it will speak for itself,” he added.

According to Gatchalian, Guo and her business partners hired a “fly-by-night” Chinese construction firm to erect 36 high-rise buildings on a 7.9-hectare property owned by Baofu Land Development Inc., a company that Guo previously led as president.

Guo, who appeared in a bulletproof vest and yellow prison attire, faced intense questioning but chose not to answer many of Gatchalian’s queries. She cited ongoing criminal cases and threats to her life as reasons for her silence. She also claimed that she was constrained from discussing the financial transactions linked to her companies, QC Genetics Inc. and QJJ Farms Inc., due to the pending human trafficking case against her.

Despite her denials, Gatchalian provided evidence of PHP 1.9 billion in cash and check deposits to Guo’s personal accounts over six years and over PHP 3 billion in QJJ Farms’ accounts during the same period. He also noted that Guo had used the bank accounts of QJJ and QC Genetics to pay the electric bills for Baofu amounting to several millions of pesos.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, who presided over the hearing, pressed Guo on her identity and nationality. Hontiveros pointed out that biometric evidence linked Guo to Guo Hua Ping, raising questions about her true identity. Despite the evidence, Guo continued to identify herself as Alice Guo, claiming she was born in Tarlac.

“I am Alice Guo… From what I know, I was born in Tarlac, Tarlac,” said the 34-year-old sacked official who is believed to have entered the Philippines on January 12, 2003, when she was 13 years old.

Hontiveros criticized Guo for her lack of transparency. “We have proven that you are not Alice Guo and you are really Guo Hua Ping,” she said. Hontiveros also questioned Guo’s claims of being a Chinese national, noting the conflicting information from fingerprint analyses and official documents.