Legarda warns about ‘creeping invasion’
SEN. Loren Legarda said the situation of Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, whose citizenship has been questioned, might not be an isolated case as she warned of a “creeping invasion” by foreign criminal groups.
A Senate probe into an illegal online casino or POGO operating in Bamban has uncovered questions about Guo’s links to Chinese businessmen who are said to be fugitives from the law in other countries.
“I’m certain, it’s not an isolated issue. It could be a creeping invasion,” Legarda said on Thursday in a chance interview. She said invasion might not come from the seas or the skies. “It could be cultural, economic and this time, political,” she said.
The Senate Committee on Women, Children, and Family Relations and Gender Equality led by Sen. Risa Hontiveros conducted a series of inquiries into the alleged illegal operation of a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) in Bamban.
Some POGOs in Bamban were suspected of being involved in the hacking of government agencies in recent months. It was also reported that some POGO workers — particularly Chinese — were able to apply and obtain Philippine passports and birth certificates.
“That’s why I said this [investigation] is very important. This is not an isolated case in a small town. We should look into the infiltration of our government agencies, on our elected officials by syndicates from other countries,” Legarda said in Filipino.
“Where did this come from — the faking of birth certificates and documents of government agencies? That’s why it’s possible that a foreigner can become Filipino [using fake documents] and be qualified to be elected [to local office],” she said.
Legarda said she earlier sought an investigation on some reports that non-Filipinos were able to obtain Philippine passports.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said that these foreigners obtained their Philippine passports from their consulates or satellite offices overseas.
“It’s every inch a very serious national security concern,” Legarda said.
She also dismissed allegations that the Senate probe promotes “sinophobia.”
“We’re doing this for the Fili
pino people, the Filipino nation, upholding our rights as citizens of our beloved country,” Legarda said.
“And this is for everyone’s sake including the Filipino-Chinese community [in the country]. We’re doing it for everyone too. It’s really not just an economic issue but as I said a national security issue,” she added.
“That’s why it’s important to have that executive session and really get the agencies of the government to explain how she’s
(Guo) able to come up with her documents from government agencies,” she added.
Also on Thursday, Hontiveros released documents that she said shows the possible identity of Guo’s real mother — her business partner and not their household help as the mayor claimed.
Based on the documents that the senator obtained, Guo’s mother is one Lin Wen Yi, an incorporator involved in numerous businesses of the Bamban, Tarlac local chief