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Ombudsman indicts former Bamban mayor and 18 others for graft over POGO land permits
The Office of the Ombudsman filed graft charges against former Bamban mayor Alice Guo and 18 other respondents for issuing permits that allowed two offshore gaming operators to operate on reclassified land. The resolution was dated December 19, 2025 and released June 20, 2026.
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The Office of the Ombudsman indicted former Bamban mayor Alice Guo and 18 other respondents for graft under Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019 for the unlawful issuance of permits that enabled two Philippine offshore gaming operators to operate in Bamban, Tarlac. That measure reclassified 79,218 square meters of land owned by Guo.
Two additional permit resolutions The same resolution also charged respondents with issuing Resolution No. 185, Series of 2020, a Letter of No Objection for Hongsheng, and Resolution No. 128, Series of 2023, a Letter of No Objection for Zun Yuan. The National Bureau of Investigation, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, and the Department of Justice filed the underlying complaint on September 2, 2025.
Earlier raids and prior conviction Hongsheng was among the POGOs later cancelled.
Police raided the site in February 2023 over alleged cryptocurrency investment activity. Zun Yuan was raided in March 2024. In November 2025 a Pasig City court convicted Guo of human trafficking linked to the Hongsheng operation and sentenced her to life imprisonment. The new graft cases are the latest legal actions against her.
