Hontiveros: Could Bamban Mayor Guo be Chinese?

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday questioned the identity of Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, and went as far as to ask whether the local official was a Chinese citizen.

At a news conference a day after a Senate inquiry on the raided Philippine offshore gaming operation (POGO) in Bamban, Hontiveros said Guo lied when the mayor denied any connection with Hongsheng Gaming Technology, Inc.

"There were several questions where she lied. 'Yung pinaka-stark and shocking example ay 'yung dineny niya na may connection siya sa Hongsheng [Gaming Technology Inc.] Eh nandun na nga sa mga dokumento ng municipal government na siya ngayon ang pinuno," Hontiveros said.

(The very stark and shocking example was her denial of her connection to Hongsheng when it was indicated in the document from the municipal government that she is an official of the firm.)

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian earlier said his office obtained a Sangguniang Bayan Resolution dated September 2020 containing the council's approval of the application made by Guo, who was then a private citizen, for Hongsheng's license to operate.

Hongsheng was raided in February 2023. The same compound was then used by Zun Yuan Technology Inc., the company that was also raided in Baofu compound last March.

"Honestly, I was very tempted na sabihan si mayor [na] mag-show cause siya kung bakit hindi siya dapat i-cite in contempt," she added.

(Honestly, I was very tempted to tell the mayor to show cause why she should not be cited in contempt.)

She expressed doubts about Guo's identity, saying the mayor had no official records to prove she was a Filpino.

"Totoo kaya na Chinese talaga si Mayor Alice Guo (Could it be true that Mayor Alice Guo is a Chinese national?)" she asked.

According to Hontiveros, Guo's name only floated during the 2022 elections and the latter has no hospital record of birth and no school records in the Philippines.

The senator noted that Guo only has a certificate of live birth, wherein it was declared that her father is a Filipino. However, Hontiveros said business records show that Guo's father declared that he is a Chinese national.

Guo has her registration of live birth but this was filed only when she was already 17 years old.

"Si Mayor Alice ba, at ang mga tulad nyang may mga mahiwagang nakaraan, ay mga asset na pinapasok ng China sa ating gobyerno para magkaroon sila ng mabigat na impluwensya sa politika sa Pilipinas? Marami nang ibang kasong ganyan sa ibang bansa, kaya hindi na ito bago, at dapat nating imbestigahan," Hontiveros said.

(Is Mayor Alice, and her fellows who have mysterious backgrounds, are assets of China who entered the country to influence the politics in the Philippines? There are a lot of cases like that in other countries. It's no longer new and this should be investigated.) 

GMA Integrated News has reached out to the Chinese embassy and Guo for their comments and will publish their side as soon as they become available. —NB/VDV, GMA Integrated News