Lt. Jessa Mendoza of the Philippine Navy attends a Senate hearing on July 10, 2024 to detail her ordeal after her identity was used by 193 companies, some POGOs, in their incorporation papers. Office of Sen. Risa Hontiveros

Jessa Mendoza

Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img alt="Lt. Jessa Mendoza of the Philippine Navy attends a Senate hearing on July 10, 2024 to detail her ordeal after her identity was used by 193 companies, some POGOs, in their incorporation papers. Office of Sen. Risa Hontiveros" src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1720614509516viber_image_2024-07-10_13-42-05-928.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dii"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Lt. Jessa Mendoza of the Philippine Navy attends a Senate hearing on July 10, 2024 to detail her ordeal after her identity was used by 193 companies, some POGOs, in their incorporation papers. <em id="isPasted">Office of Sen. Risa Hontiveros</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — In 2016, Jessa Mendoza&#x27;s cousin borrowed her TIN ID, a government-issued card bearing one&#x27;s Taxpayer Identification Number and signature. </p><p>While slightly puzzled, Mendoza gave her cousin the ID, without much questioning.</p><p>&quot;Siyempre out of respect, trust, and confidence pinahiram ko yung ID ko. Tapos may pinuntahan sya, then immediately she returned it to me,&quot; Mendoza said.</p><p>(Of course out of respect, trust, and confidence I let her borrow my ID. She then went somewhere in the house and immediately returned it to me.)</p><p>Eight years later, in 2024, Mendoza would find herself in a bizarre legal dilemma that she was able to trace back to the &quot;borrowed&quot; TIN ID.</p><p>As it turned out, Mendoza, now a Philippine Navy officer and a recent law graduate, has become an incorporator of 193 companies, more than half of which with &quot;foreign-sounding names&quot; and some confirmed as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).</p><div><strong>STOLEN IDENTITY</strong></div><p>Mendoza detailed her ordeal Wednesday before the Senate Committee on Women and Children, who is leading the probe into illegal POGOs. </p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/5/10/-pogo-politics-suspected-china-ties-of-tarlac-town-mayor-alarms-solon-1016">• &#x27;POGO-politics&#x27;: Suspected China ties of Tarlac town mayor alarms solon</a></div><p>&quot;[In] April last year I received a Letter of Authority from the BIR for tax deficiency linked to a Xin Wanhao Online Game Technology, Inc. I initially did not give it much thought, thinking that it was, merely, a mistake... Five months after this, I received another LOA for the tax deficiency of Handy International Prime Carry, Inc.,&quot; she told the panel.</p><p>But things got out of hand in April this year when Mendoza received a subpoena from the Office of the City Prosecutor of Makati asking her to submit a counter-affidavit over violations of Serart Construction Corp., another company she had no clue about.</p><p>She was eventually indicted for the said crimes and had to shell out over P100,000 to avoid jail time.</p><p>She finally sought the help of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), who advised her to request for a &quot;reverse search of filiations of all corporations under my name.&quot;</p><p>&quot;After two months of waiting, we secured from the SEC a preliminary 5-page list of the corporations where my name is listed as a director or incorporator... To my surprise and dismay, my name, Taxpayer&#x27;s Identification Number (TIN) and signature were used to incorporate no less than 193 corporations,&quot; she said.</p><p>Mendoza sobbed as she insisted that she has no involvement with all companies that used her name in their corporate registrations.</p><p>&quot;I assert that I have no involvement in any business venture and that the only source of income is my job as a devoted member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which I have committed 14 years of my life in serving my country with courage, integrity and loyalty,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;Pasensya na po your honor. Sorry, sorry po, hindi ko po sinasadya. Sorry po talaga,&quot; Mendoza said as she apologized for turning emotional.</p><div><strong>ILLEGAL POGOs</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dii"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1720615470949Screen%20Shot%202024-07-10%20at%203.55.58%20PM.png" class="fr-fic fr-dii" alt="From the 193 companies linked to Jessa Mendoza&#x27;s name, Sen. Risa Hontiveros identified 2 POGOs which stood out for her due to their alleged criminal activities. Office of Sen. Risa Hontiveros"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">From the 193 companies linked to Jessa Mendoza&#x27;s name, Sen. Risa Hontiveros identified 2 POGOs which stood out for her due to their alleged criminal activities. <em>Office of Sen. Risa Hontiveros</em></span></span></span></strong></div><p>Upon questioning from Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Mendoza admitted that her cousin used her TIN ID for incorporation of a travel agency which never became operational. </p><p>Mendoza also said that aside from her, her cousin, uncle, and another relative in the United States also fell victim to &quot;identity theft&quot; as their names were used in the incorporation papers of some other companies. </p><p>From the 193 companies linked to Mendoza&#x27;s name, Hontiveros identified 2 POGOs which stood out for her due to their alleged criminal activities.</p><p>The senator said Mendoza&#x27;s case is just some of the &quot;nefarious&quot; crimes of POGOs in the country.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/6/13/pogo-paradise-how-the-philippines-became-a-hub-for-illegal-pogos-1524">• POGO Paradise: How the Philippines became a hub for illegal POGOs</a></div><p>&quot;Palapit nang palapit rin ang panganib na dala nila sa mga karaniwang Pilipino gaya ni Lt. Jessa... Ginagamit nila ang pangalan ng mga taong walang kamalay-malay, para pagtakpan ang mga krimen nila,&quot; Hontiveros lamented.</p><p>(The POGOs dangers are now being felt by ordinary Filipinos. They are using the names of innocent people in order to cover their track as they commit crimes.)</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WPwLeKx4XM4?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>​Lt. Jessa Mendoza sobbed as she insisted that she has no involvement with all companies that used her name in their corporate registrations.</p>

​Lt. Jessa Mendoza sobbed as she insisted that she has no involvement with all companies that used her name in their corporate registrations.

How a PH Navy officer became 'incorporator' of nearly 200 companies, some POGOs | ABS-CBN

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How a PH Navy officer became 'incorporator' of nearly 200 companies, some POGOs

How a PH Navy officer became 'incorporator' of nearly 200 companies, some POGOs

Jauhn Etienne Villaruel,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 10, 2024 10:03 PM PHT

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Updated Jul 11, 2024 01:10 AM PHT

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Senate

senator

POGO

crime

stolen identity

identity theft

Jessa Mendoza

ANC

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