There were no words from suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Leal Guo if she and her family would attend today’s resumption of the Senate hearing on the illegal activities of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) which President Ferdinand Marcos has declared totally banned in the country.
Meanwhile, a latest survey showed an overwhelming majority of Filipinos favored the total ban on POGOs.
The mayor and her siblings, Sheila, Wesley and Seimen Guo, were believed to have gone into hiding.
The Senate issued an arrest order against them due to contempt charges for failing to show up in the hearings being conducted by the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality chaired by Senator Risa Hontiveros.
Law enforcers failed to locate the Guos in their given address in Bamban, Tarlac; Valenzuela City, and Quezon City.
But the Bureau of Immigration believes the Guo siblings are still in the country although Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said it was likely the mayor, also known as Guo Hua Ping, could have used her Chinese passport in fleeing to China.
The mayor’s parents Jian Zhong Guo and biological mother Wenyi Lin, both Chinese nationals, were believed to be in China.
Also, Hontiveros’ committee has not yet received confirmation if Dennis Cunanan, former director general of the Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC), will appear in the committee’s fifth hearing.
Only Nancy Gamo, the accountant of the Bamban mayor, could attend the hearing as she remained in Senate custody.
Hontiveros said the Guos, Cunanan, and Gamo were invited to the Senate hearing to clarify their alleged links to the raided POGO hubs in Bamban, Tarlac and Porac, Pampanga.
Cunanan and Gamo were also facing contempt charges.
Despite the total ban on all POGO operations, Hontiveros vowed to continue their hearings on POGOs to ensure that the President’s order is enforced and those behind it be held liable.
The Anti- Money Laundering Council had frozen all the assets of Guo, along with her family members and purported co-incorporators.
Senate President Francis Escudero assured the Guos and Cunanan of their safety and protection at the Senate.
An OCTA Research survey dubbed Tugon ng Masa showed 83 percent of the respondents were in favor of the POGO ban, while 12 percent disagreed, and five percent “don’t know enough to give an opinion.”.”
Among major areas, Balance Luzon has the highest agreement rating (90 percent) on banning the POGOs as opposed to the National Capital Region 20 percent against the ban, the OCTA Research indicated.
The non-commissioned survey was taken using face-to-face interviews from June 26 to July 1, 2024.
The poll also found out that 85 percent of Filipinos will support candidates who oppose POGO operations in the country.
Meanwhile, 12 percent said they will not support candidates who are in favor of a nationwide ban on POGOs.
“Among major areas, Balance Luzon has the highest voting preference for the candidate who supports banning POGO operations in the country, with 93 percent,” the research showed.
OCTA Research said the survey has a ±3 percent margin of error at a 95 percent confidence level. Subnational estimates for the geographic areas covered in the survey have the following margins of error at a 95 percent confidence level: ±6% for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
During his third State of the Nation Address on Monday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he is banning all POGOs in the country by the end of the year.
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) chairman Alejandro Tengco earlier asked Malacañang to spare 12 of the 43 POGO companies
in the Philippines from the ban, saying these were customer service agents for gaming companies.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “Senate: Still no confirmation of Guo siblings’ attendance to July 29 hearing”
