Newsbreak Chats: The POGO world beyond Alice Guo

A controversy that started with one mayor of a small town in Tarlac has unraveled into an issue that has exposed corruption and vulnerabilities of various sectors in the Philippines.

But Alice Guo, the once-mayor of Bamban, is probably just a minor player in the network that has allowed Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) to thrive with criminalities.

On Thursday, October 3, Rappler investigative editor Chay Hofileña sits down with Mindanao bureau coordinator Herbie Gomez, investigative reporter Lian Buan, and multimedia reporters Jairo Bolledo and John Sitchon to explore who’s who in the controversial POGO network.

[dorisdalanon]

God bless Rappler and reporters Chai Hafelenia, Lian Buan, Jairo Bollido, Herbie, and you for this update on POGOs. Stay safe always and be inspired...

[nelsonnucup]

Cud u check/verify how Bong Go & family became Filipinos? And also corruption/conflict of interest charges against GO & family!!

[VHarris-]

Its a little out of topic but I've noticed that Sheila Guo, pretending to be the sister of Alice Guo, have more resemblance to Michael Yang. Please check out her face bone structure.

[warthogg]

Updated immigration laws but more importantly - laws that prohibit convicted politicians of running for office ever again!

[cecileramos]

It must be a web of criminals both foreign & local.

[yelguaro]

Thanks for this, Rappler. Everyone must watch this.

[georgisollertys]

@Rappler
kayo na lng ang pag asa namin upang investigate din ang mga POGO sa Sta. Ana Cagayan Valley🥲

[Lito-ynfd]

Dapat lahat ng mag papa register ng company sa SEC gawing personalized presentation sa SEC mismo at fun inotaryo mga docs nila

[jessie_]

Ewan ko kung ako lang: Yang mga operations ng POGO like love scam, crypto scam, etc, mga layers lang yan. Ang main mission nila is money laundering. Diyan nila nililinis yung mga pera ng illegal drug operations nila. Dyan na lumilitaw ang mga pangalan na kadikit ni Digong. Ang tanong, sino ba ang pinaka bigboss nila.

Kasama pa yung pagtatayo ng mga kasabwat nila ng madaming businesses, corporations. Pwede din na ginagamit din nila sa money laundering. Di ba andaming negosyo ng bf (daw) ni Alice Guo. Si Harry Roque din nagtayo ng mga corporations at nakakataka biglang hundreds of millions agad.

[nonitolim]

GALING! Good job rappler. Himala walang DDS trolls dito. Wala na talagang budget Duterte haha!

[raquelbautista]

Dapat lahat ng nasa PSa from top to Bottom tangalinnat ikulong, s totoo lang I’m a midwife nahirapan nga akong I late registration ang pamangkin ko n pinanganak s OSpital ng Manila kc d Nila n complete data ng parents and to think from
Manila Health pako nuon … that’s why I was so shock n ung foreigner ang Dali maka kuha delayed birth certificate OMG .. then s pag lupa ng passport I remembered from 5am naka pila n kmi s Immigration natin susme gutom, pagod bago ka makakuha ng passport.. dapat lahat den ng Immigration officer tangalinnat ikulong

[lydiadecastro]

kasama sa palawakin ang Immigration law, at ganon din ang PSA, pag issue ng passport, pag register ng business, comelec law, lahat po ng may kinalaman sa Pogo system ay i check at balikan nila kung saan nagkulang ang batas natin, ganon na din ang mga kapulisan. Nakakalito na nga po, ganon na ba kahina ang ating check and balance sa mga system ng ating government? Na napakadaling malusutan ang batas?

[Jojo-hhed]

They are not complete yet, investigate deeper as there could be leaders of a religious organisation that is involved in this operation, they are closely associated with Alice Guo.

[erwinross]

as always the brilliance of Lian Buan will rise above all. It has been the cry of all truth seeker after the fall of the dictator for a genuine FOI law, not the one passed by duterte and will act upon by his ombudsman stooge to go or not file a case.

[jocelynkilimann]

so to conclude all this issue we have a l very corrupt government 😢

[nelsonnucup]

Why not disallow/illegalize having 2 names or more?

[kimrosaros]

Thank you for sharing po! God bless us all, ❤

[kathbalagtas]

Isa lang problema diyan. Mga corrupt sa gobyerno.

[hollyginger]

@Lian B I agree that "ministerial" job of certain agencies is so antiquated. Nasa age na tayo ng Alexa, chatGPT at AI. These artificial intelligence tools can be programmed to check requirements for identification documents. Kung civil servant ka, may natapusan naman, at nakapasa ka ng civil service exam, surely you can do more than just a robot's job? Palitan na yang klase ng pag-iisip. Lagi na lang "cop-out" (e.g.., avoiding responsibility, choosing to look away from the issues, avoiding solutions) ang posisyon ng mga spokespersons and govt executives -- by circling back to the very legal system that's the source of society's problems in the first place. Our legal and political systems & the bureaucracy are only as good as the socio-cultural climate and the constituents. So what if our immigration laws, election code, etc are old as time? All the more palitan if these no longer serve much less protect the common good. Word of the wise: Kung gusto, may paraan; kung ayaw, may dahilan.

[timbrezamorenozen]

Naalala nyo yung mga laptops na defective na iginprovide ng Deped na dapat gamitin sana ng mga teachers? Is it possible that they purchased it from a company that maybe connected