Alice Guo’s sister, Porac POGO staff to face Senate

MANILA, Philippines – After an embarrassing lapse that let dismissed mayor Alice Guo out of the country, Philippine agents pulled off in only a few days a cross-border operation to make up for it: get two other valuable people, and make them face Congress where the rules are more flexible.

On Tuesday, August 27, Sheila Guo, Alice’s sister, and Cassandra Li Ong, the Porac Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator’s (POGO) government liaison, are set to appear before a Senate inquiry. Guo is already in the custody of the Senate where “a round-the-clock security team” is posted near her, said the Senate public information and media relations office.

Ong, on the other hand, was transferred to the House of Representatives on Monday. The Senate has coordinated with the House to bring Ong from Batasan to Pasay on Tuesday.

While Sheila Guo and Ong are expected to be interrogated on Tuesday, government agencies will also be under scrutiny for Alice Guo’s departure despite an immigration lookout and a Senate warrant. Immigration, transport, aviation, and foreign affairs officials were invited to Tuesday’s hearing.

There’s a tussle now among government agencies whether or not to move to cancel Alice Guo’s Philippine passport. Malacañang has invoked the passport law provision that a threat to national security can be a basis, and asked the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to cancel Alice Guo’s passport.

However, after a few days, both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) expressed apprehension, saying canceling Alice Guo’s passport would not be wise. The DFA has not commented on the issue as of writing.

“We see that her having a valid Philippine passport will compel the host country to return her to the Philippines, and not to anywhere else,” said Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval on Monday.

The working theory is that if the Philippine passport is canceled, Alice Guo would be pressed to acquire a Chinese or other passport through any means, which could put her outside of the Philippines’ reach.

How Sheila Guo and Ong were cornered

Ong’s lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said on Monday that the DOJ made a mockery of rules and processes when they detained the two at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) without a warrant.

“That’s arbitrary detention,” said Topacio.

The reason the two are now under congressional custody is because it’s the legally viable way to detain them. Both houses of Congress have powers to arrest and detain people found to be in contempt of these institutions. Sheila Guo and Ong are in contempt of Congress for snubbing invites to attend previous hearings into criminal syndicates masquerading as POGOs.

To get a court warrant of arrest would mean going through prosecution. Neither Sheila Guo nor Ong were included in the qualified trafficking complaint filed against Alice Guo, which is currently being resolved by prosecutors. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) took them into custody after their return from Indonesia on August 22 following an immigration operation of both countries.

Both of them underwent inquest on Friday, August 23, which is a procedure conducted if people were arrested without a warrant. The bases of the charges were immigration violation, violation of the passport law, and obstruction of justice, all of which are bailable offenses. Congress’ detention is a sure way to keep them in custody.

“Walang warrant, walang kaso, ide-detain mo sa NBI, kung pagdating niya tinurn-over niyo sa House, wala namang problema diyan eh, wala namang kuwestiyon na may power ang House. Bakit binigyan nila ang sarili nila ng problema,” said Topacio.

(There’s no warrant, there’s no charge, but you detained them at the NBI? If immediately upon their return, they turned them over to the House, there’s no problem there because there’s no question that the House has the power. Why did they give themselves a problem?)

What can Sheila Guo and Ong tell the Senate?

While Sheila Guo is not an owner or officer of any POGO, nor the real estate firm Baofu which Alice put up to lease its land in Bamban, Tarlac to the Hongsheng/Zun Yuan POGO, she is co-owner of at least 10 of the Guo family businesses.

Ong, on the other hand, was the government representative of the Porac POGO Lucky South 99. She was also the one who hired former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque to lawyer for Whirlwind, the real estate firm that leased the land to Lucky South.

Senator Risa Hontiveros expects the two could shed some light on some missing links, particularly with Roque.

But if Topacio’s statements on Monday are any indication, it does not seem that Ong is going to implicate officials of the former administration of Rodrigo Duterte. Topacio showed on Monday a photo circulating on the internet showing Ong in a group that includes President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos.

Topacio said Ong has confirmed the photo’s authenticity, and she “has some information regarding POGO operations and this picture may hold the clue as to why POGO operations, especially illegal POGO, multiplied during the time of President Marcos.” Marcos ordered a ban on all POGOs during his third State of the Nation Address last July.

The Senate inquiry will start at 10 am on Tuesday, August 27. – Rappler.com