The Philippines’ mayor will be investigated due to alleged connection to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), located in the mayor’s municipality. The POGOs were recently raided, which further increased the concerns.

The raids and documents found:

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) called Sherwin Gatchalian, a Senator, to conduct a detailed investigation into the matter. The investigation will focus on the potential relationship between Alice Guo, a Mayor of Bamban, and POGO based in Tarlac.

The concerns were raised when the senator’s office found the documents that pointed out Guo’s connection to POGO, especially in various activities related to the operators. 

The government is already investigating POGO, due to the accusations of serious illegal detention and human trafficking, which led to two raids that were conducted in February 2023. Following that raid, the premise of Zun Yuan Technology Inc. was raided recently as well. 

In the documents, the senator’s office found a Sagguniang Bayan (Local Council) Resolution that passed in 2020. According to it, Guo’s application was approved and she got a license to operate Hongsheng Gaming Technology, Inc. Back then, she was a private citizen.

On top of that, in a raid conducted at Zun Yuan Tech offices, a list of vehicles was found. Among them was a Ford Expedition that was registered under Guo’s name. The Land Transportation Office (LTO) from the Philippines verified that information. 

As Asia Gaming Brief reports, apart from the resolution and the list of vehicles, the raid revealed an electricity bill that amounted to PHP15.111 million ($269,000). The bill was made by the local supplier, and it was made between September 2023 and February 2024. What’s concerning is that the bill was addressed to the mayor.

Reducing a number of crimes:

Current senator, and former mayor, Gatchalian, appealed to local government officials, highlighting their importance when it comes to the prevention of crime in their jurisdictions, which can drastically decrease the level of crime in the Philippines overall. The senator also reminded the officials to refuse to connect and start business relationships with shady businesses such as POGOs.

The investigation continues, and the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means took another step by filing a resolution which has one primary goal: to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation and to make sure that all accusations related to the serious illegal detention, human trafficking, physical abuse and torture, and other alleged violations were thoroughly researched, especially when it comes to the Zun Yuan’s offices in Bamban, Tarlac.