The investigation into Guo began after police raided a Pogo compound in Bamban in March and rescued hundreds of trafficked workers and seized equipment used for scamming from the facility, which was built on land partially owned by the mayor.

Senator Risa Hontiveros said the Supreme Court’s arrest order was the “first step in making Mayor Alice Guo or Guo Hua Ping accountable to our laws.”

Other associates and employees named in the arrest order for their failure to answer the Senate subpoenas include Nancy Gamo, Dennis Cunanan and the mayor’s family – Sheila Leal Guo, Wesley Leal Guo, Jian Zhong Guo, Seimen Guo and Wenyi Lin.

“With all the lies and possible crimes by Mayor Alice and all those involved in Pogo, this is not merely procedural … We continue to wait for her to show up at the next hearing, along with the others listed and cited in contempt,” Hontiveros said.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday lauded the AMLC for its decision to freeze the assets of Guo and her associates, adding that “this move signifies our commitment to upholding justice and is a critical step in preventing the dissipation of money and properties which are proceeds of various crimes.”

Gatchalian said a large amount was wired to Guo’s accounts from 2019 to 2024, with the bulk of the transactions made between 2019 and 2022 mostly being traced to China. This further raised suspicions, the senator said, as Guo could not justify why billions of pesos were being deposited in her account.

The AMLC said it found probable cause that Guo, Huang, and Lin were involved in human trafficking and fraud through three entities: Zun Yuan Technology, Baofu Land Development Inc, and Hongsheng Gaming Technology.

Zun Yuan was found to have been operating the Pogo in Bamban that was raided in March. It was previously known as Hongsheng, which authorities also raided in 2023 for alleged cryptocurrency scams. Both entities are located on the 10-hectare compound in Bamban that was leased to them by Baofu.

Criminal links?

Guo’s lavish lifestyle – including designer clothes wardrobes and a McLaren 620R, among 16 other vehicles – also became the subject of scrutiny given the modest returns of the businesses registered under the mayor’s name, Gatchalian said.

“It makes you wonder – where is she getting her wealth from? When we last checked the documents of the companies she owns, of which they have 15, they all varied in terms of income. Based on my analysis, her money is coming from different sources,” Gatchalian said in a TV interview.

Senator Risa Hontiveros said Guo “had a lot of red flags” and had ties to criminals such as Huang and Lin, who are both named incorporators of Baofu.

Singaporean authorities arrested Lin in August and seized assets worth S$170.6 million, including 13 bank accounts, properties, and cryptocurrencies.

“My theory here is that there are those that want to put up a Pogo, but behind it is a scamming activity. Of course, they can’t go to the banks and say they’re taking out a loan for a Pogo. No bank would lend money to you if that’s your line of business,” Gatchalian said.

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Chinese and Philippine ships clash in first incident under Beijing’s new coast guard law

Chinese and Philippine ships clash in first incident under Beijing’s new coast guard law

He said that these entrepreneurs would approach a money launderer “and say that they want to put up a business – Pogo or scamming – and tell them that they’ll earn [a particular amount],” adding that financiers would usually be willing to take the risk, investing up to billions worth of pesos as their money comes from illegal means.

“This money never went through [the Philippines’] system, based on the documents I saw. These did not pass through our normal channels such as the bank,” Gatchalian added.

Defence analyst VK Parada told This Week in Asia that the Philippines ran the risk of gaining notoriety as an “organised crime hub in Southeast Asia” due to the widespread reports of torture, debt bondage, and human trafficking at a number of Pogos.

“The most serious security concern is really the extent to which Pogos have embedded themselves within the Philippines’ political and economic system – falsifying documents, paying off Philippine authorities left and right to be able to set up and maintain these large-scale operations undisturbed,” Parada said.

Parada said he doubts the allegations that Guo is a spy, suggesting the Bamban mayor was more likely a front for Chinese business interests operating on the mainland.

“After all, gambling is illegal in China, and the Philippines’ lax gaming laws have been very accommodating to offshore operators,” he said.

The Pogo controversy gained another political dimension with the addition of another figure linked to former President Rodrigo Duterte’s inner circle, Yang Hongjiang, who was included in the AMLC’s asset freeze order and whose money allegedly funded Hongsheng.

Yang is the brother of Duterte’s self-appointed economic adviser and close friend, Michael Yang, a Chinese national.

Yang was at the centre of the 2021 scandal involving Pharmally, a company that secured over 8 billion pesos (US$136.87 million) worth of government contracts during the Covid-19 pandemic for supplies such as personal protective equipment (PPE), face masks, and testing kits that were reportedly overpriced and substandard.

Yang allegedly served as Pharmally’s guarantor and financier. The controversial firm came under further fire after lawmakers questioned how such large contracts could be awarded to a company that had only been incorporated a year before and had less than a million pesos in capital.

Officials also suspect that Guo may be involved with the Lucky South 99 Pogo compound raided in the town of Porac in Pampanga province, where nearly 200 foreign and local workers were rescued and evidence of human trafficking, torture, and scam activities was found.

The Presidential Anti-Organised Crime Commission (PAOCC) said the Pogos in Bamban and Porac might both be linked to the same criminal organisation connected to Guo’s family. Both firms were established between 2019 and 2022.

Authorities later raided a two-hectare resort in Porac, which reportedly served as the playground for Lucky South 99’s bosses and included extravagant features such as a helipad, underground tunnels, its own KTV bars, and even an indoor firing range.

The commission said Guo’s links to shady activities within these Pogos were becoming undeniable.

“Her participation in Baofu is quite clear, and connections between Baofu and Lucky South 99 are becoming more evident as we review more documents,” PAOCC spokesman Winston Casio told the media in late June.