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Gatchalian suspects Tarlac town mayor has links to raided POGO

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Sherrie Ann Torres

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA<strong> (UPDATED) </strong>— Sen. Win Gatchalian has sought an investigation on the recently raided Internet Gaming Licensee (formerly known as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator) in Tarlac which showed evidence of human trafficking, serious illegal detention, physical abuse and torture.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/14/8-suspek-sa-ni-raid-na-pogo-hub-sa-tarlac-kakasuhan-na-1307">READ: Suspek sa ni-raid na POGO hub sa Tarlac, kakasuhan na</a></div><p>Gatchalian last week filed Senate Resolution 977 seeking the probe.</p><p>On Tuesday, he also questioned Bamban Mayor Alice Guo&#x27;s alleged inability to detect the questionable operation of Zun Yuan Technology Inc., which was raided by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) this month.</p><p>&quot;Hindi kami direktang nakikipag-communicate sa kanila dahil dumadaan kami sa proper channels. Nag-file ako ng resolution para imbestigahan ito at kumukuha ako ngayon ng mga information para sa gagawin nating hearing,&quot; said Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.</p><p>(I have filed a resolution for an investigation, and I am now gathering information for hearings we will hold.)</p><p>Aside from documents bearing the name of the mayor that were confiscated in the raid, Gatchalian also noted that a vehicle registered to Guo was among those seized by authorities.</p><p>&quot;Sa mga nakuha naming information at nakuha naming mga dokumento, may kinalaman yung current mayor ng Bamban dito sa POGO,&quot; said Gatchalian, who has been calling for a ban on POGOs.</p><p>(The information and the documents we have received indicate the mayor of Bamban is involved with the POGO.)</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/9/suspect-in-bgc-shooting-involved-in-pogo-s-gatchalian-says-1933">RELATED: Suspect in BGC shooting involved in POGOs, Gatchalian says</a></div><p>He said that the mayor was facilitating business documents for the POGO and an electricity bill in his name was also found in the raided compound.</p><p>Authorities rescued 875 workers in the raid, including 432 Chinese nationals, 57 Vietnamese, 8 Malaysians, 3 Taiwanese nationals, 2 Indonesians and 2 Rwandans.</p><p>Raiding teams also discovered a swimming pool, several tunnels and luxury cars inside the compound.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/51UiFd_oVtc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>&quot;Paano nangyari sa jurisdiction nya yan. Ako nag-mayor ako, malalaman mo talaga ang nangyayari sa city or municipality mo, may mata or tenga ka sa loob ng city mo. Alam mo ang nangyayari,&quot; Gatchalian pointed out.</p><p>(How can that have happened in his jurisdiction? I have been a mayor and you really will know what is happening in your city or town. You have eyes and ears in your city. You know what is happening.)</p><p>Gatchalian noted that the foreign nationals also had legitimate government IDs.</p><p>&quot;So far ganyan din ang modus nila, nakakakuha sila ng local IDs. Ang problema kasi sa atin itong IDs hindi centralized, kanya-kanyang ahensya, kanya kanyang bigay kaya kung sino-sino binbigyan,&quot; Gatchalian said.</p><p>(So far, that is their style. They can get local IDs. The problem is our IDs are not centralized. Each agency has their own and can just issue them to anyone.)</p><p>The senator added that Bureau of Immigration officials may be working with POGO operators to let foreign national — including those who turn out to be fugitives in their home countries — into the Philippines.</p><p>&quot;It boggles the mind that the BI is unable to detect the entry of these fugitives,&quot; he said, hinting at collusion within the bureau.</p><p>ABS-CBN News has been repeatedly reaching out to <span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">Guo&#x27;s office for comment but the mayor&#x27;s secretary has yet to respond to calls and to text messages. </span></p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I1T7haQyLwM?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Sen. Win Gatchalian has sought an investigation on the recently raided Internet Gaming Licensee (formerly known as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator) in Tarlac which showed evidence of human trafficking, serious illegal detention, physical abuse and torture.</p>

Sen. Win Gatchalian has sought an investigation on the recently raided Internet Gaming Licensee (formerly known as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator) in Tarlac which showed evidence of human trafficking, serious illegal detention, physical abuse and torture.