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Mother Released on Reduced Bail After 21 Months Detention in POGO Case
Merlie Joy Castro left detention on July 14 after a Pasig court cut her bail to P180,000. She had been held on a money laundering charge that remained after her 2025 acquittal in a qualified trafficking case tied to a Bamban POGO.
Jul 15, 1:30 AM·1m read1 source
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Merlie Joy Castro was released from detention on July 14 after posting a reduced bail of P180,000 ordered by a Pasig court. She had spent 21 months in jail. Castro was acquitted in 2025 of qualified trafficking charges linked to Philippine offshore gaming operators connected to Alice Guo’s POGO in Bamban, Tarlac.
The court cleared her along with Thelma Laranan, Rowena Evangelista, Rita Yturralde, and Maybeline Millo after prosecutors failed to prove involvement in the incorporation of Hongsheng Gaming Technology, Inc. She remained in custody on a separate money laundering case stemming from the same alleged identity misuse. Castro surrendered to authorities on October 8, 2024.
At a Senate hearing on June 26, 2024, she stated that her identity had been stolen and used for the raided POGO. A Bureau of Internal Revenue representative testified that the tax identification number listed for her in the company’s incorporation documents did not exist. Castro left behind children then aged 10 and 16.
“Unti-unti nang nawala sa balita ang usapin tungkol kay Alice Guo, pero para sa akin, hindi pa ito natatapos,” she said. ” Her younger sister Jocelyn said the priority now is for Castro to return home to her children. , described identity theft as a human rights issue that strips innocent people of liberty and family time.
Castro still faces the money laundering case.
