Navy officer's identity stolen by POGO-linked groups

A Navy officer who defended the country's sovereign rights against Chinese intruders in the West Philippine Sea found herself a victim of identity theft by POGO-linked firms that used her name in their incorporation documents.

- MARC JAYSON CAYABYAB

During the Senate's resumption of its probe on illegal offshore gaming operators on Wednesday, Lt. Jessa Mendoza from the Philippine Military Academy Class of 2014 broke down as she recalled her ordeal in being slapped with tax violation cases after her name was used as incorporator of tax-evading companies.

Mendoza said she received notices from the Bureau of Internal Revenue about the tax deficiencies of foreign companies unknown to her - Xin Wanhao Online Game Technology and Handy International Prime Carry Inc., the latter of which she was named treasurer while foreign names Xiaohui Dai and Wei He were incorporators.

It became worse when in April, she was summoned by the Makati prosecutor's office asking her to submit a counter-affidavit over the Social Security Act violations of another company, Serart Construction Corp., where she was named official with two other incorporators Zhijian Yi and Haiyan Zhang.

Mendoza, who denied the allegation in the fiscal's office, said she was indicted and had to post a P108,000 bail bond to avoid detention.

The bogus charges prompted her to do a reverse search of her name at the Securities and Exchange Commission. She was shocked to know her name and correct tax identification number were listed in the incorporation papers of 193 corporations, 102 of which sound foreign.