Ex-PNP chief Acorda seen with alleged POGO players

September 24, 2024 | 1:30pm

MANILA, Philippines — Former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Benjamin Acorda was photographed with a number of alleged Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) players, Sen. Risa Hontiveros showed on Tuesday, September 24. 

During one of the final Senate hearings on POGOs, Hontiveros showed photos of Acorda smiling with former Bamban Mayor Alice Guo’s brother, Wesley Guo. The photograph was taken prior to his post as PNP chief, when he was still the regional director of Cagayan de Oro. 

Wesley is wanted by the Senate for failing to attend their POGO hearings. 

In the same photo, Sual, Pangasinan Mayor Liseldo Caluagy was also seen. Calugay has been suspected by senators to be either Alice’s business partner or her boyfriend. Guo has multiple businesses, some of which are allegedly used for money laundering. 

In a different photo, Acorda was also seen with Yang Jianxin, the brother of Michal Yang, ex-economic advisor to former president Rodridgo Duterte. 

Jianxin was detained by immigration authorities for being an undesirable alien. He has admitted in the Senate hearing that he was a Chinese national. 

“This photo was not actually a meeting. It was just us visiting the head of police in Cagayan during that time,” Jianxin said in Chinese, translated into English by interpreter Carolyn Batay.    

“I really wonder what our high officials in government are doing fraternizing with a wanted fugitive,” Hontiveros said. 

In a previous Senate hearing, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. senior vice president Raul Villanueva, a former police general, said that intelligence reports suggested a former PNP chief may have assisted Alice Guo in escaping the country.

Sen. Bato dela Rosa, a former PNP chief, has expressed anger over the statement, which was publicly shared without being verified. He said that it could damage the reputation of former PNP chiefs even if no one was named. 

The PNP said that it has begun to investigate Villanueva’s claim. 

Recently, however, Villanueva clarified that his claim that a former PNP chief may have helped Guo escape was merely a rumor, with no evidence to support it. He made this admission to Criminal Investigation and Detection Group director Maj. Gen. Leo Francisco.