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BAMBAN Mayor Alice Guo is short of making a good alibi to save her ass, says the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) as it assailed the embattled local chief executive for passing on the blame for her own mess.
“We take issue with the statements of Atty. Nicole Rose Margaret Jamilla who tried to pass the blame to PAGCOR the reasons for the criminal cases filed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government against her client, Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac,â reads the statement of the state gaming regulator.
Previously, Atty. Jamilla said that PAGCOR should be the one questioned over the illegal operation of a POGO hub located in a 10-hectare complex owned by Guoâs Baofu Land Development Corp.
PAGCOR said their regulations are “clear cut” and issuance of local business permits and licenses is beyond the ambit of the agency.
“We are also not responsible for the inspection of buildings that are not under our jurisdiction,” the agency added, even as it claimed that they donât even have an access to the rest of the 10-hectare compound where Zun Yuan Technologies, Inc. that was raided in March over reports of human trafficking and illegal detention â was located.
“Zun Yuanâs registered address was the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors of A1 Building inside the compound of Baofu Land Development Inc. We had people from the Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement Department assigned there to monitor their operations,” PAGCOR said.
“Outside of those premises, PAGCOR had no access to the rest of the 8-hectare compound and the 39 other buildings there, many of which were highly restricted and inaccessible to the public. Hence, our people could not have legally monitored activities there,” it added.
PAGCOR apparently got intimidated after Sen. Risa Hontiveros said PAGCOR hinted at including the state gaming regulator in the Senate investigation for possible negligence that allowed the proliferation of POGOs in Bamban.
Guo, who is under a six-month preventive suspension by the Ombudsman over the graft cases filed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, has repeatedly denied allegations linking her into the illegal POGO operations. (ANGEL F. JOSE)
