Gatchalian warns Alice Guo of arrest if she snubs Senate hearing

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday warned suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo that the Senate might issue a warrant for her arrest if she would skip the Senate hearing on July 10 regarding the raided POGO hub in her hometown.

"Mako-contempt na siya at that point at pwedeng mag-issue ng warrant of arrest para dalhin siya sa Senado. So, may kapangyarihan ang Senate na mag-isyu ng warrant of arrest para madala siya sa Senado at humarap siya sa mga senador," Gatchalian told reporters in a virtual press conference.

(She will be cited in contempt at that point and we can issue a warrant of arrest so we can bring her here in the Senate. The Senate has the power to issue that arrest order.)

The Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality has already issued a subpoena against Guo and her family.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/911292/alice-guo-senate-subpoena/story/

The embattled mayor skipped the last hearing, saying her "exposure to prolonged stress and high level of anxiety" due to what she claimed as malicious accusations against her have "adversely affected and caused serious impact" on her physical and mental health.

In the last hearing, Senator Risa Hontiveros, who leads the investigation as panel chairperson, already warned Guo of being cited in contempt if she would not honor the subpoena.

Amid Guo's absence in the preliminary investigation of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Gatchalian explained that the suspended mayor cannot do that to the Senate because of the power of the subpoena.

"Puwede niyang gawin iyan sa DOJ at sa mga executive branch pero sa Senado, hindi niya magagawa iyan dahil may subpoena na. So, importante na pumunta siya rito dahil hindi kami papayag na abogado lang niya ang pupunta, hindi kami papayag na representative niya abogado, dahil mayroon tayong subpoena at ang objective ng mga senador matanong siya diretso, at marinig sa kanya diretso ang mga nalalaman niya," he said.

(She can do that in the DOJ and other agencies in the executive branch but not in the Senate because we already issued a subpoena. She needs to appear here because we will not allow her lawyer to speak on her behalf. We have a subpoena and the objective of the senators is to get answers from her directly.)

Gatchalian also dismissed Guo's claims that her mental health was being affected by the hearing, noting that the embattled mayor was not experiencing anxiety when she was "lying" before the senators.

"Iyan ang typical excuse naman ng mga guilty ano. May sakit, anxiety, hindi makahinga, pero nung nagsisinungaling siya sa Senado, wala siyang anxiety. Dire-diretso iyong pagsisinungaling niya e," he quipped.

"In fact, kung wala tayong ebidensya, mapapaniwala ka talaga dahil diretso iyong mukha niya e, diretso iyong pagsasalita niya e," he noted.

(That is the typical excuse of those who are guilty. They claim they are sick or experiencing anxiety but when she was lying through her teeth, she was not experiencing anxiety.   If we do not have pieces of evidence, we will be convinced of her testimonies because she is telling these lies with a straight face.)

The lawmaker said Guo's attendance is important as there are still pieces of evidence that should be divulged to "strengthen the case against her."

"Marami pang nagpapadala sa amin ng mga ebidensya, testimonials, lalo na nung lumabas si Guo Hua Ping... Marami pang pwedeng ilabas na nagpapatunay na unang-una nagsisinungaling siya," he said.

(More documents were sent to us since we disclosed the information on Guo Hua Ping. We still have a lot of evidence that will prove that she is lying.)  

"Labanan ito sa korte e. The more evidence na magsasabi na siya ay hindi si Alice Guo ay siya ay si Guo Hua Ping at siya ay Chinese, mas maganda iyon. The more evidence the better," he added.

(This is a battle in court. If more pieces of evidence will prove that Alice Guo is Guo Hua Ping, then that would be better.)

Last week, the National Bureau of Investigation confirmed that Guo and Chinese national Guo Hua Ping are the same person after their fingerprints were found to be identical.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/911462/nbi-alice-guo-guo-hua-ping-same-fingerprints/story/

It was Gatchalian who first raised suspicions that Alice Guo and Guo Hua Ping were the same person, citing documents from the Board of Investments (BOI) and the Bureau of Immigration.

Guo is at the center of the Senate investigation into the raided POGO hub in Bamban, Tarlac after several documents showed that she was personally involved in the processing of documents for its operations.

Hontiveros raised the issue of Guo's identity after it was learned that her birth was registered late and that she had no school records.

At a campaign rally on April 2, 2022, then-candidate Guo told Bamban voters that she was a Filipino citizen. She repeatedly asserted that she was a Filipino during the Senate investigation.

Meanwhile, Gatchalian also pointed out the need for Guo's family members to attend the hearing to determine who are the other individuals that were involved in what he called "illegal activities."

The lawmaker particularly mentioned Guo's father, Jian Zhong Guo, as he believed that the latter was involved in these activities.

"Naniniwala ako na 'yung father niya kasama dito sa mga POGO activities at gusto ko malaman sa kanila sino ang mga katransaksyon nila at 'yung mga activities na pinapasok nila dito sa bansa natin at saan nanggagaling ang pera dahil malaki ang pera na pumapasok," he said.

(I believe that his father is involved in these POGO activities and I want to know from them who are their partners and what activities they brought here in our country. We also want to know where the money came from because the amount is very huge.)

"Importante may makasuhan, may makulong. 'Yun ang dapat na objective na ating magawa dahil nga [kapag] puro lang tayo raid nang raid at walang makakasuhan, walang matatakot. Uulit at uulit lang ito," he added. 

(Our objective is for the involved individuals to face charges and be jailed for their activities. If we are only conducting a series of raids, without filing appropriate charges, then these illegal activities will continue.)