So why did suspended Bamban town mayor Alice Leal Guo – whose real name, according to the National Bureau of Investigation, is actually Guo Hua Ping based on fingerprint matching – think she could get away with assuming another person’s name, run for political office by claiming she’s a Filipino, and become deeply involved in illegal activities in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or POGOs?
The suspended mayor has been subjected to scrutiny, not only because of her alleged POGO connections, but also due to her questionable identity.
The National Bureau of Investigation strengthened this allegation, confirming last week that her fingerprints matched those of a Chinese passport holder Guo Hua Ping who entered the Philippines as a 13-year-old on Jan. 12, 2003 using a special investor resident visa.
At this point, we have yet to ascertain the extent of her elaborate yet clumsy attempt at large-scale deception.
That would be up to the ongoing Senate probe and by other investigative bodies.
What is clear for now is she is certain to be stripped of her position as town mayor and serve a long jail term if convicted of qualified human trafficking and other crimes, not to mention peddling blatant and outrageous lies during the Senate inquiry.
And Guo cannot expect to be deported to China once convicted by a court here, as she would first have to serve the sentence in the Philippines, as pointed out by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, head of the Senate committee that conducted the hearings on her case.
Since the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission have already filed a non-bailable case of qualified human trafficking against the suspended mayor over her alleged ties with Zun Yuan Technology Inc.–an illegal POGO in Bamban town–she may have to spend several decades in prison.
What is alarming is how Guo has been able to foist herself as a natural-born Filipino and even hold public office while she was in fact presiding over patently illegal operations in POGOs, including online scams, prostitution, kidnapping and torture.
Authorities will also have to determine whether this is an isolated case, or a common occurrence in other areas where POGOs have been established.
These POGOs were allowed to operate because they were supposed to provide employment to Filipinos, pay the correct taxes to the Philippine government, and contribute to our economic growth.
But as it turns out, many of the POGOs are nothing more than criminal enterprises hiding behind a veneer of legality.
It may be time for the government to ban POGOs altogether, as suggested by some lawmakers and right-thinking citizens, and send Guo and others of her ilk to their rightful place – behind bars.