Citing sufficient evidence found in their preliminary investigation, state prosecutors will file next week qualified trafficking in persons charges versus disgraced former Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo.
Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty announced this development Friday in a press conference with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) spokesperson Winston Casio and fiscal Benjamin Samson.
“The preliminary investigation ruled that there’s prima facie evidence for qualified human trafficking in persons against Mayor Guo. The information was established and we will file this information before the court next week,” Ty said.
“We thank the prosecution panel who worked hard during the preliminary investigation. This case is very complicated. As you notice, the resolution is extremely thick and it has so many details,” the DOJ official added.
Ty explained that Guo’s culpability was determined based on a provision under the ‘Expanded Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012,’ which amended Republic Act 9208, stipulating that those who organized or directed persons to commit this criminal offense are just as liable.
“If it was established that you organized a business where acts of human trafficking were committed, you could be charged (of the crime), and that’s what happened to Mayor Alice Guo and her co-respondents,” he said.
Guo was linked to several businesses in Bamban, Tarlac that allegedly hosted illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs). These firms reportedly recruited workers, who were tasked to scam individuals, among other organized criminal activities.
Apart from Guo, the DOJ said it will file similar cases versus former Technology Resource Center chief Dennis Cunanan and other Chinese incorporators, including Huang Zhiyang—the alleged ‘boss of all POGO bosses’ in the Philippines.
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