Senate orders arrest of Alice Guo, others

The Senate has issued an arrest order against suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo for repeatedly failing to attend the upper chamber’s investigation into the raided POGO hub in her town.

Also ordered arrested are Dennis Lacson Cunanan, Nancy Jimenez Gamo, and the mayor's alleged relatives Sheila Leal Guo, Wesley Leal Guo, Jian Zhong Guo, Seimen L. Guo, and Wenyi Lin.

The orders, issued on July 11, were issued by Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality chairperson Senator Risa Hontiveros and were approved by Senate President Francis Escudero.

JUST IN: Senate releases the arrest order against suspended Mayor Alice Guo and several other individuals who did not attend the investigation into the recently-raided POGO hubs. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/Nhyu0Lu2NH

— Hana Bordey (@HanaBordey) July 13, 2024

Guo, who was also identified as Guo Hua Ping in the order, was ordered arrested and detained at the Senate’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) “until such time that she will appear and testify in the Committee, or otherwise purges herself of that contempt.”

To recall, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada moved to issue the arrest order against Guo.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian also moved to cite Guo in contempt along with her relatives who were issued subpoenas, particularly her father Jian Zhong Guo, suspected biological mother Wen Yi Lin, and siblings Seimen, Wesley, and Shiela.

Apart from the Guo family, Dennis Cunanan and Nancy Gamo were also cited in contempt.

The arrest order was issued against Guo for “unduly refusing to appear, despite due notices, at the hearings of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality on June 26, 2024 and July 10, 2024, and thereby delaying, impeding and obstructing the inquiry into the reported violation of human trafficking, serious illegal detention, and physical abuse and torture in the premises of an internet gaming licensee of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp and other related resolutions.”

Sought for comment, Guo’s lawyer Atty. Nicole Jamilla said that the Bamban mayor’s camp “has not received this Order but we already anticipated the issuance of this Order after [the] Mayor was held in contempt.”

“As we already filed a Petition before the Supreme Court, we are hoping that the Court will give due course to our Petition considering this supervening issuance of Order of Arrest,” she said.

Guo's other lawyer Atty. Stephen David said the mayor is "not really capable of attending Senate hearings at the moment" due to trauma.

"We are always aware of the consequences of her failure to attend the Senate hearings. However, considering her Physical and Mental Health condition and the trauma she had in so massive cyber bullying and humiliation, she is not really capable of attending Senate hearings at the moment. Hopefully, when her condition will improve, we will see her again during hearings," David said in a message sent to reporters.

Senate deploys teams

The OSAA said it has deployed on Saturday morning four teams to serve the arrest orders vs. Guo and the seven other individuals, according to a report by Nimfa Ravelo on Super Radyo dzBB.

Each team has been assigned specific arrest orders since the addresses are different.

The teams were deployed by Senate Sergeant-at-Arms retired Philippine Army Lieutenant General Roberto Ancan.

The OSAA was given 24 hours to serve the arrest orders and detain the eight individuals at its office until they appear and testify before the Committee or otherwise purge themselves of the contempt.

Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality ordered the OSAA to serve its issued Subpoena Ad Testificandum to the following individuals:

• Jaimielyn S. Cruz
• Roderick Paul B. Pujante
• Juan Miguel Alpas
• Katherine Cassandra Li Ong
• Alberto Rodulfo "Ar" De La Serna
• Ronelyn B. Baterna
• Michael Bryce B. Mascarenas
• Stephanie B. Mascarenas
• Rodrigo A. Bande
• Jing Gu
• Xiang Tan
• Daniel Salcedo, Jr.
• Chona A. Alejandre
• Duanren Wu
• Marion Ryan O. Chua
• Julian M. Linsangan III
• Josefina Mascarenas
• Edwin C. Ang

The above mentioned individuals were ordered to appear at the Senate for hearing on Monday, July 29, at 10 a.m.

The subpoenas were signed by Hontiveros and approved by Escudero.

Guo’s camp has filed a petition before the Supreme Court asking to annul the Subpoena Ad Testificandum issued by the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality.

The Hontiveros-led Senate panel had earlier issued subpoenas against Guo and members of her family.

David previously said the Senate hearings have left the embattled mayor "traumatized."

The Senate committee, chaired by Hontiveros, is investigating Guo's supposed involvement in the illegal POGO hub that was raided in her own town.

Guo's citizenship is also being questioned due to her inconsistent testimonies about her background and the supposed dubious documents regarding her Filipino citizenship.

But Guo has denied involvement in illegal POGO activities and maintained that she is a Filipino citizen.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) recently confirmed that Guo and Chinese passport holder Guo Hua Ping have the same fingerprints. —KG, GMA Integrated News