DOJ STARTS PRELIMINARY PROBE INTO TRAFFICKING CASE VS GUO, 13 OTHERS

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DoJ) conducted on Friday its first preliminary investigation into the case of suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and several others for qualified trafficking in persons.

The case stemmed from the complaint filed by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) before the DoJ last June 21 alleging that Guo and 13 other respondents were involved in the establishment/operations of Baofu compound previously Hongshen Technology, which subsequently became Zun Yuan Technology, both POGO hubs reportedly involved in forced labor, human trafficking, online fraud and investment scams.

The respondents were allegedly fully aware of the illegal activities persisting inside the Baofu compound.

As reported, authorities discovered and established the close link between Zun Yuan in the Baofu compound with Guo and herein respondents which resulted in the filing of these cases.

"No one will be spared from this investigation, heads will roll once we find probable cause to do so," Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said.

In an interview, Mayor Alice Gou's counsel said following the preliminary investigation that there was no direct evidence against his client on human trafficking.

Lawyer Alex Avisado said that the evidence provided against the mayor was "forced", and stressed that Gou was not connected to any human trafficking activities.

"An electricity bill as evidence, articles of incorporation, a letter of no objection, is that already human trafficking?," Avisado said.

2024-07-05T05:51:52Z dg43tfdfdgfd