Philippine authorities file human trafficking charges against 13 PAGCOR employees??
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has filed human trafficking complaints against 13 Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) employees for allegedly allowing illegal activities at a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (Pogo) hub in Bamban, Tarlac. The accused personnel were assigned to oversee the operations of Zun Yuan Technology, which was involved in scamming activities.
The NBIs investigation revealed that the PAGCOR staff failed to prevent these illicit operations and, in some cases, even encouraged them. Among those charged are Aloysius Vincent Bacay, Ralph Ba?aga, Bernard Bernardo, Aprilito Corpus, Jalvin Feliciano, Noel Laygo, Mark Christian Lobos, Roldan Palma, Marvin Panganiban, Ronnie Sadang, Anthony Taylo, Randy Pasion, and Mac Jherwen Austria. Pasion and Austria were identified as bingo monitoring staff, while the others were compliance monitoring agents.
The NBI stressed that PAGCOR had representatives at the site who were aware of the scamming activities but did nothing to intervene.
Exploitation of POGO workers
The NBI linked the PAGCOR employees to qualified human trafficking charges, explaining that POGO staff were misled into believing they were participating in legal activities. The NBI has also reported these PAGCOR staff to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) for administrative violations, which include gross misconduct, serious dishonesty, and behaviour harmful to the public interest.
PAGCORs response
In a message to SiGMA News, PAGCOR Assistant Vice President for External Communications Jun Alano stated that the organisation would respect due process in handling the matter. PAGCOR is a government-owned and controlled corporation that has been established and is in charge of regulating the gaming industry in the country.
Additional charges against former Mayor Alice Guo
In a separate case, the NBI filed complaints against former Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, for falsification of public documents. The NBI accused Guo of misrepresenting herself as a Filipino citizen named Alice Guo, when her identity is reportedly a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping. The NBI and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) filed a joint complaint against Guo for falsification of public documents under Section 171 of the Revised Penal Code; violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act (RA) 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; and violation of Section 4(1) about Section 6(c), 6(i) and Section 10(l) of RA 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking Act, as amended.
Guo allegedly used this false identity to acquire properties in Pangasinan, which were then linked to POGO operations. The NBI intends to initiate forfeiture proceedings for these properties.
Guos company, Baofu, was found to have leased land to the POGO hub initially known as Hongsheng Gaming Technology, which later became Zun Yuan Technology. Guo and her family are also facing money laundering charges for funding business activities connected to these properties.
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