Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz stated on Friday that it is improbable for suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo to be a state witness. Cruz explained that most state witnesses are typically the “least guilty” in a case, whereas Guo appears to be “one of the most guilty.”
“In this case, we really see that suspended Mayor Alice Guo is one of the most guilty. So, I think, it will not pass,” Cruz said in an interview on state-owned PTV for a pre-SONA special. “For me, it’s unlikely,” he added.
PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio previously mentioned that Guo would only be considered as a state witness if she identified someone “higher” in the hierarchy than herself. However, Casio also emphasized that a state witness must be the least guilty in the conspiratorial chain.
Cruz noted that all evidence points to Guo as the central figure in the ongoing investigation into the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Bamban, which involved illegal activities such as crypto and love scams.
Authorities have charged Guo and 13 others with violations of Sections 4 and 6 of Republic Act (RA) 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, as amended by RA 10364 and further amended by RA 11862. The complaint referred to Guo as “a.k.a Guo Hua Ping,” and the National Bureau of Investigation confirmed that Guo and Guo Hua Ping share the same fingerprints.
The Senate has issued an arrest order against Guo after she failed to attend the resumption of the investigation on the raided POGO hub. Guo has requested the Supreme Court to annul and set aside the subpoena issued against her.