Tarlac Governor Susan Yap said that she and the provincial government of Tarlac are unaware of the illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO) firm in the municipality of Bamban.
In a radio interview on Wednesday, Yap said she was surprised when they knew that Bamban has POGO operations, in which its Mayor Alice Guo is involved.
“Of course I was surprised like everyone else kasi we didn’t know, talagang hindi naming alam na may POGO (operation) because we have been against it. The Sangguniang panlalawigan, the provicial Givernment mula pa noong 2021 that we are aginst any illegal gambling and activities like this,” the Governor said.
When asked about Guo's performance as mayor, Yap said the mayor is performing well, noting that their municipality received a Seal of Good Local Governance award.
“Mayor Alice has performed well yung kanyang duties as mayor. She run for mayor in 2022 and she won, tapos a few months later her council approached me and introduced her to me because nga her performance in the municipality has been well,” said Yap.
“She is liked by the community, she has improved the lives of the people and she applied to join our party. In fact, this is the first time that the municipality has been awarded the SGLG due to her good performance,” she added.
According to Yap, she has limited information about Guo, but she knows she is a Filipino citizen, citing her Philippine passport and her qualification as a public servant.
“As far as I know, she is a Filipino because she was able to run for public office; she was proclaimed, she has a Philippine passport…beyond that, as to the question of her nationality, hangang dun lang ang alam ko."
“People from the community know her naman that her family has a hog business dun sa lugar for many years so both our engagement is because of work what to do for her town and all. So, ganun lang ka lalim yung aming pagkakilala sa kanya.”
Meanwhile, if Guo was proven guilty of faking her documents, Yap said the government of Tarlac would study possible legal actions against her.
“We will look into the legal matters with that, she has to prove herself with regards to her nationality,” Yap noted.
It can be recalled that Guo was grilled in the Senate during the first hearing concerning her nationality and the raid on POGO in her town.
It was learned that Zun Yuan Technology Inc.’s billing statement from Tarlac II Electric Cooperative (Tarel Co.) Inc. and the seized vehicle during the raid were registered under Guo's name.
The Bamban mayor also did not present any evidence of her nationality except her birth certificate, which was only registered when she was 17- years -old.
