PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants to get to the bottom of what has become the most lucrative industry during the previous administration.
In doing so, Marcos issued a statement urging dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo to tell everything she knew — including protectors on the take.
He likewise asked the former mayor to provide details as to how and who helped POGO become a trillion dollar industry embarking on all sorts of fraud concealed as offshore gaming operations.
“What I want to hear from her, for her to lay out how exactly how these POGOs became such basically a large criminal enterprise,” Marcos said even as he warded off Guo’s alibi.
“As mayor she said she did not know this is going on is very difficult to believe because as a former local government executive, it seems impossible that an operation that is what, a few hundred meters from my own office, hindi ko alam ang nangyayari roon, illegal, ganoon kalaki na operations?”
“Sana maipaliwanag niya kung bakit hindi niya alam. Paanong bilang isang mayor ay hind imo alam ang nangyayari sa bayan niya na ganoon kalaking problema?, he added.
As to her riches, the President wants a detailed account as where she raised such enormous wealth which enabled a virtually unknown to win an election.
“Marami pa siyang sasagutin. Paano siya yumaman ng ganyan, bakit ang dami dami niyang pera? Paano siya naging mayor na hindi naman siya kilala ng taga roon?”
He also called on Guo not to emulate Cassandra Ong and Shiela Guo whom he described as evasive — “I just hope she answers it better than her cohorts, sina Cassandra Ong at Shiela Guo very evasive makasagot.”
“Sana naman mabuti-buti ang sagot ni Alice Guo as compared doon sa mga kasamahan niya because it will not help her at all to be evasive.”
Marcos ended his statement with a warning — Mas bibigat ang magiging problema niya kung hindi siya magsabi ng totoo.” (ANGEL F. JOSE)
