October 11, 2024 | 10:25am
MANILA, Philippines — The Quad Committee of the House of Representatives, composed of the Committees on Dangerous Drugs,Public Order and Safety, Human Rights, and Public Accounts resumed its joint inquiry into the connection of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) and the illegal drug trade on Friday, October 11.
The mega-panel is led by Committee on Dangerous Drugs chair Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (Surigao del Norte, 2nd District) with fellow members Committee on Public Accounts chair Joseph Stephen “Caraps” Paduano, Committee on Public Order and Safety chair Dan Fernandez, and Committee on Human Rights chair Bienvenido Abante.
Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr., Deputy Speaker David “Jay-jay” Suarez and Committee on Transportation chair Romeo Acop are also joining the panel.
Last September 27, two new witnesses were introduced. PLTCol. Santie Mendoza and Nelson Mariano joined the hearing and implicated former CIDG officer Royina Garma and NAPOLCOM Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo in the assassination of PCSO board secretary and Police General Wesley Barayuga in 2020.
During the seventh hearing, Mendoza alleged Garma issued a service vehicle to the late Barayuga to make it easier for the gunman to identify and track him down.
Rep. Johnny Ty Pimentel, on the other hand, claimed that there was an ongoing NBI investigation into the corruption in PCSO, particularly in the small-town lottery (STL) operations, when Barayuga was killed. In his interpellation, Pimentel added that according to then-NBI Officer in Charge Eric Distor, Barayuga was prepared to testify against the corruption and illegal practices in the PCSO.
Meanwhile, the hours-long mega-panel probe also tackled illegal POGOs wherein Rep. Cheeno Miguel Almario (Davao, 2nd district) showed an excerpt of a documentary where Chinese tycoon She Zhijiang, currently detained in Thailand, claimed that just like him, Guo Hua Ping or Alice Guo, is a Chinese spy. She claimed he was recruited in 2016 while in the Philippines and added that Guo worked as security agents of China’s Ministry of State Security.
He added that Guo asked for campaign funds for her mayoral candidacy in Bamban, Tarlac in 2022.
The detained tycoon also urged Guo to tell the world about the truth as China cannot be trusted.
He also claimed that Guo asked him for campaign funds for her Mayoral candidacy in the 2022 elections.
Guo, however, vehemently denied She’s allegations and claimed she doesn’t know the individual. The dismissed mayor likewise threatened to sue She or Al Jazeera for releasing supposed false statements against her.
Aside from Guo’s alleged espionage, the Quad Com members probed the brother of former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang, Tony Yang, who owns the Philippine Sanjia Steel Corp., under scrutiny for ties to illegal activities. Tony was cited in contempt for lying about his business associates and will be detained until the mega panel concludes its investigation.
The Quad Com is set to discuss extrajudicial killings, with Tokhang survivors among the witnesses expected to attend today’s hearing.
Watch the hearing live on Oct. 11, 2024.
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