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DOJ: Alice Guo not qualified for Witness Protection Program at this time

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Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — Dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo “still stands as the most guilty” in the illegal gambling operations in her hometown in Tarlac, Department of Justice spokesperson Mico Clavano said on Saturday.</p><p>Clavano gave the statement when asked if Guo — arrested in Indonesia earlier this month after sneaking out of the Philippines in July — can be placed under the Witness Protection Program.</p><p>“As of right now, she still stands as the most guilty, thereby not making her qualified,” Clavano said in a news forum.</p><p>“But kung matumbok natin at may makilala pa tayo na mas malaking tao, then she may qualify,” he said.</p><p>(But if we see that there is someone higher yup involved in this, then she may qualify.)</p><p>“It will also depend on the willingness of former Mayor Alice Guo to cooperate with the law enforcement and the authorities,” he added.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/7/lawyer-pending-cases-may-keep-alice-guo-from-telling-all-at-senate-hearing-1133">Lawyer: Pending cases may keep Alice Guo from telling all at Senate hearing</a></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">Guo, who is facing human trafficking and graft cases, earlier asked the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for help, saying that she has been receiving death threats.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">“Hindi niya nasabi sa amin kung sino itong mga taong nag threa-threaten sa kaniya,” Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. told reporters.</p><p>(She did not say who is threatening her.)</p><p>“Ang sabi lang niya kung puwede namin magarantiya ang kaniyang buhay,” he said.</p><p>(She just said that maybe we could guarantee her safety.)</p><p>The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) earlier said that the Guo family has gambling businesses in Cambodia, and may be connected to triads in Southeast Asia.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/1/wrap-from-bamban-to-batam-alice-guo-s-accomplices-reveal-pogo-s-wide-web-848">WRAP: From Bamban to Batam, Alice Guo&#x27;s accomplices reveal POGO’s wide web</a></div><p>“Anything is very possible at this point,” Abalos said, he said, adding that what authorities found in the raided POGO hub in Bamban make it &quot;very possible&quot;.</p><p>He said that he does not believe that Guo acted alone in the POGO operations.</p><p>Guo has herself denied involvement in human trafficking, torture and investment scams that authorities believe happened at the Bamban POGO hub.</p><p>The former Bamban mayor is facing charges before a court in Tarlac and the Ombudsman. The Office of the Solicitor General has filed a petition to cancel her certificate of live birth, while the Anti-Money Laundering Council has issued a freeze order on her bank accounts and assets amounting to some P28 billion.</p><p>Guo — who is detained in police headquarters Camp Crame — is expected to attend a Senate investigation next week to shed light on the operations of illegal gambling syndicates in the Philippines.</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/fzvLKlBz4Ck?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Guo, who is facing human trafficking and graft cases, earlier asked the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for help, saying that she has been receiving death threats.</p>

Guo, who is facing human trafficking and graft cases, earlier asked the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for help, saying that she has been receiving death threats.