Alice Guo: No regrets that I entered politics

Suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo has thanked the people of her town for their continued support, stressing that she has no regrets that she entered politics even if it has been a painful experience.

In a lengthy Facebook post on Friday, July 12, the embattled Guo spoke about her foray into the political scene after starting her bid as an independent mayoralty candidate in the 2022 elections.

"Most Frequent Asked Question... Nagsisi ka ba Alice at pumasok ka sa politika? The answer is HINDI... pero nasaktan ako ng husto nang politika. I almost lost myself…" Guo said.

(Most Frequent Asked Question... Do you have any regrets, Alice, that you entered politics? The answer is no... but I was deeply hurt by politics. I almost lost myself...)

Guo expressed gratitude to the Bamban folk for their support despite the accusations hurled against her.

"Humihingi po ako ng paumanhin sa mga taong nadamay at pilit na idinadamay. Ako po ay nakikiusap din to stop spreading false information," Guo said.

(I ask for forgiveness from the people who were dragged and are forcibly being dragged into this. I also ask to stop spreading false information.)

Her post came on the eve of reports Saturday that the Senate has issued an arrest order against her for repeatedly failing to attend the upper chamber's investigation into the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Bamban.

Also ordered arrested are Dennis Lacson Cunanan, Nancy Jimenez Gamo, 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.

Alice's identity

During the panel's hearing on June 26, Hontiveros showed a document from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) showing the picture of another woman named Alice Leal Guo.

The NBI document showed that the two Alice Leal Guos had the same birthday, July 12, 1986, and that their names had the same spelling. According to Hontiveros, the two Guos also declared Tarlac as their place of birth.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has raised suspicious that the suspended mayor and Guo Hua Ping were the same person, citing documents from the Board of Investments (BOI) and the Bureau of Immigration.

"Alice Guo might be Guo Hua Ping who entered the Philippines on January 12, 2003 when she was 13 years old. Her real birth date is on Aug 31, 1990," Gatchalian had said as he presented BOI documents of the Guo family's application for a Special Investors Resident Visa.

'Temporary' ordeal

Also in her post, Guo thanked Bamban residents, local officials, businessmen, and farmers, among others, for standing beside her amid her ordeal.

"Pansamantala lang naman po ito habang may pinagdadaanan po tayong pagsubok," she said.

Guo said that she already misses the people of Bamban, as she apologized for not being physically present.

Earlier this week, the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA), citing information from the embattled mayor's helper, said Guo has not been seen in her farm for several weeks already.

Guo's lawyer Stephen David previously said the Senate hearings have left the embattled mayor "traumatized."

In closing her post, Guo said, "Ako po ay isang FILIPINO. At MAY MALAKING puso for BAMBAN at mahal na mahal ko ang Pilipinas." — VDV, GMA Integrated News