President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has denied the allegations made by Senator Ronald Dela Rosa that the current administration is attempting to implicate him, former President Rodrigo Duterte, Senator Bong Go, and former Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Chief Lt. Gen. Gerald Caramat in illegal POGOs in the country.
The President’s clarification follows Senator Dela Rosa’s accusation that scam suspect Mary Ann Maslog was allegedly instructed by Malacañang to get Alice Guo to sign an affidavit implicating him and former President Duterte in POGO operations, as revealed during a Senate hearing on October 8.
In an interview at the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Laos, President Marcos stated that he does not know Mary Ann Maslog.
Maslog was previously involved in the 1998 textbook scam and was later revealed to have faked her death to avoid prosecution, now going by the name Jessica Francisco. She was arrested by the NBI on September 25 after fingerprint matching confirmed that Maslog and Francisco are the same person.
Meanwhile, senators are considering holding the Philippine National Police Intelligence Group accountable for allowing Maslog to interfere in Alice Guo’s surrender and for permitting her to visit Guo twice at the PNP Custodial Center.
When asked about revelations by a Chinese spy, She Zhijiang, currently imprisoned in Thailand, that Guo is also a Chinese spy, President Marcos said such developments are part of a natural process that aids investigations, especially as more individuals come forward to testify.
The President declined to comment further on government actions addressing espionage in the country.