Bamban Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo—INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ The Court of Appeals (CA) has ordered freezing the assets of suspended Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac, and several other individuals and companies allegedly involved in illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said on Thursday. According to a statement from the AMLC shared by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian with reporters late Thursday, the July 10 freeze order encompasses a wide range of assets, including 90 bank accounts across 14 financial institutions, several real properties, and high-value personal properties, such as luxury vehicles and a helicopter.
“The Court of Appeals has approved the AMLC’s ex parte petition for the issuance of a freeze order, effectively freezing the assets of individuals and entities allegedly involved in these illegal activities,” the AMLC said. “This decisive action aims to prevent the dissipation of assets while the investigation and legal proceedings continue,” it said. It said that it filed a petition for the freeze order on July 8.
The amount of bank accounts and assets ordered frozen was not disclosed by the AMLC, whose officials could not immediately be reached for comment and other details. In a Viber message to reporters, Gatchalian disclosed that Guo has 36 bank accounts under her name. Apart from Guo’s, also included in the AMLC’s petition are the assets of Zhiyang Huang, and Baoying Lin, who are “s.