Before venturing into politics,Guo has an extensive background as a businesswoman,serving as an incorporator and holding significant shares in at least 11 companies since 2010,according to Securities and Exchange Commission records. [10]
Alleged links to POGOs
Senator Win Gatchalian revealed Guo's alleged links with the firm Zun Yuan Technology,Inc.,an online casino firm that was registered in the Philippines as a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO). [68] Prior to her election in 2022, [69] Guo had applied for the license of Hongsheng Gaming Technology,Inc.; [68] and in late 2020,the municipal council approved its establishment and operation. [70] Hongsheng had its license to operate canceled by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) by 2022. [70] In 2019,Baofu Land Development was incorporated by Guo,Zhang Ruijin and Lin Baoying,with Rachel Joan Malonzo Carreon and Cypriot national,Huang Zhiyang. Furthermore,Guo was reportedly spotted with a Bulgari Serpenti Viper necklace worth ₱11.9 million ( US$203,000),a Louis Vuitton silk shirt,and a Chanel bag. [71] [72]
The POGO hub,situated in the property which is owned by Baofu Land Development,Inc. and is located behind the municipal building in Barangay Anupul,Bamban, [69] was twice raided by the authorities:in February 2023,for alleged involvement in cryptocurrency investment scams; [73] and in March 2024,due to allegations of human trafficking and other cybercrimes; [74] at that time,it had been renamed Zun Yuan. [68]
In May 2024,during a Senate inquiry,senators said that the POGO compound housed "mercenaries" allegedly involved in cybercrimes and surveillance activities,citing intelligence reports. [69] [6] Meanwhile,Guo countered allegations against her,stating that she was the former landowner of the property,and her vehicle,found within the compound,was sold in 2020. [75] Guo stated that being one of the incorporators of Baofu,she later sold her shares upon entering politics. [76]
During the inquiry,Senator Risa Hontiveros suggested that Guo may be a Chinese "asset" trained to infiltrate the Philippine government and "have an influence in Philippine politics". In response to the allegations,Guo expressed dismay saying that she had been "judged prematurely" via a trial by publicity. [76] Guo stressed that she was "not a coddler,not a protector of POGOs", [77] adding in a subsequent interview by Karen Davila that she had been rattled by senators' questions into her private life and was opposed to POGOs. [78]
On May 16,2024,Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said he designated a "team of solicitors" to investigate if Guo is illegally "holding or exercising a public office" as prefatory to quo warranto under Rule 66,Revised Rules of Court. [8] On May 23,Senate President Francis Escudero said that the burden of proof regarding Guo's citizenship lies upon the accusers. [79]
The Department of the Interior and Local Government in its updated report submitted on May 17, [80] subsequently recommended that Guo be suspended by the Ombudsman following what it called “troubling findings”during its investigation over her alleged connections to POGOs. [81] Ombudsman Samuel Martires,however,told 24 Oras that his office has received the DILG's unsigned task force's fact-finding report copy. In effect the Ombudsman remanded Guo's case hinting that the DILG ought to file a valid criminal complaint with attached legal documents for Guo's criminal investigation prior to preventive suspension. [82] [83] In response,Bamban vice mayor Leonardo Anunciacion said there was no basis for Guo to be suspended,while Moncada mayor Estelita Aquino,the president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines-Tarlac chapter,of which Guo is the treasurer,also defended Guo,saying that she is “helpful and easy to get along with”and that Bamban had progressed under her leadership. [84] The Nationalist People's Coalition also announced an investigation into Guo,with party member Win Gatchalian urging the NPC to expel her. [85] [86] On June 1,the DILG announced that it had filed a criminal complaint to the Ombudsman dated May 24 charging Guo with graft. [87] On June 21,the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission filed a criminal complaint to the DOJ charging Guo and 13 others with human trafficking involving the POGO in Bamban. [88]
On May 21,2024,Hontiveros on her social media account revealed that Guo's business associates,Lin Baoying and Zhang Ruijin,were involved in the largest money laundering case in Singapore amounting to S$ 3.0 billion. Guo stated during the Senate hearing later that day that she only found out about her connections to the syndicate after reading Hontiveros' post. [89] [90] [91] [92]
Some members of the House of Representatives also expressed intent to launch a parallel probe of Guo. [93] It also recommended that Guo be temporarily stripped of authority over the Bamban municipal police force pending her suspension. [94] In response,Guo said that she would not resign and would instead seek reelection as mayor in local elections scheduled in 2025. [95]
President Bongbong Marcos also supported an investigation,adding that she had been under investigation by authorities for some time and that she was not known to most politicians in Tarlac. [62] [96] In an apparent effort to refute Marcos' claims that "no one knows her",photos from Guo's Facebook and other social media profiles resurfaced showing both Guo and Marcos together. Photos from March 2022 showed both Guo and Marcos in red shirts and face masks during the 2022 election campaign, [97] as well as photos of Guo doing a high five with Leyte's 1st district representative Martin Romualdez. Another photo from February 2024 also showed Guo elbow bumping with Marcos during the latter's inspection of the Airport–New Clark City Access Road (ANAR). [98]
On May 26,2024,Chinese-Filipino activist and academic Teresita Ang See criticized the Senate investigation for focusing too heavily on Guo,claiming that the investigation has been diverted from its main subject of POGOs into an interrogation into Guo's lifestyle and ability to speak in Chinese languages. Ang-See called for the investigation to "focus on the issues that aid legislation",denouncing the current investigation as a "ridiculous tear-jerker 'zarzuela '". [99] [100]
Guo later skipped the Senate hearings on June 25 and July 10,2024,citing her physical and mental health as the reason. [101] Consequently,she was subpoenaed by Senator Risa Hontiveros on June 25 [102] and cited for contempt by the Senate Committee on Women,Children,Family Relations and Gender Equality,chaired by Hontiveros,on July 10. [103] On July 11,Guo's assets were ordered frozen by the Court of Appeals,following a request from the Anti-Money Laundering Council. [56] On July 12,the Senate released an arrest order for Guo and her alleged relatives over the contempt charges. [104]
