Senate panel to probe Bamban mayor's links to raided POGO hub

The Senate committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality is set to hold an executive session with representatives from the executive department and intelligence agencies to further investigate Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac's involvement in a raided Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub.

Panel chair Senator Risa Hontiveros stated that this executive session will precede the third public hearing and take place during the adjournment sine die of the 19th Congress, aiming to provide solid findings and recommendations for their committee report.

Hontiveros expects more information to be revealed about Guo's connections with POGO, criminal activities, and unexplained wealth during the executive session, noting that evidence from the raid linked Guo to hacking and surveillance activities at the Zun Yuan Technology Incorporated compound.

Documents discovered in the raid also raised questions about Guo's identity due to non-existent birth records of her parents as revealed by Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) legal service director Eliezer Ambatali.

Hontiveros reiterated that their hearings are 'not an attack on Filipino-Chinese heritage' and emphasized the need for national security, criminal accountability, and addressing structural failures in regulating POGO operations.