Gatchalian urges Alice Guo to surrender: 'You won't live a normal life amid arrest order'

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Tuesday echoed the call for suspended Mayor Alice Guo to surrender to the Senate and appear before the investigation to answer all the questions and allegations raised against her.

In an ambush interview, Gatchalian expressed confidence that Guo is still in the Philippines because the Bureau of Immigration is on alert for her possible departure.

"Ako, I'm very confident na nandito pa siya dahil nga yung may hold departure order nga because of this arrest order. So hindi na siya makakalabas ng mga airport or even seaports, may Immigration din doon. So confident ako na nandito pa," Gatchalian said.

"Unless pipilitin niyang mag back door sa Zamboanga, Tawi-tawi then ibang usapan na 'yun. Pero mga normal entry at exit points natin, naka-alerto na ang ating Bureau of Immigration," he added.

(Myself, I'm very confident she is in the country because there is a hold departure order due to the arrest order. So she cannot leave via the airports and seaports, Immigration is there. So I'm confident she is still here," Gatchalian said.

"Unless she tries to leave back door via Zamboanga, Tawi-tawi then that is another matter. But in our normal entry at exit points, our Bureau of Immigration is on alert," he added.

He then called on Guo to just turn herself in to the Senate because she cannot "live a normal life" amid the arrest order released by the chamber.

"Ang panawagan ko sa kanya mag surrender na siya voluntarily. Dahil hindi siya pwede kumain ng restaurants dahil kung makita siya, dadamputin siya," the senator said.

"Hindi rin siya makakalabas ng bahay niya at hindi siya pwedeng mag-malling, hindi normal ang buhay niya...Pinakamaganda sa kanya mag-surrender na lang, para matuloy na natin ang hearing dahil kung ganito mangyayari sa kanya, hindi magiging normal ang kanyang pamumuhay kasi hindi siya makakalabas ng kanyang pinagtataguan," he added.

(I am calling on her to surrender voluntarily.  She cannot eat at restaurants because once she is spotted there she will be apprehended.)

(She can no longer leave her house and cannot go to malls. Her life will no longer be normal... The best thing is she gives herself up, so we can proceed with the hearings. If she continues her life will never be normal since she cannot emerge from where she is hiding.)

Gatchalian also said that the deactivation of Guo's Facebook page was a sign that she is hiding.

"Definitely nagtatago na siya pati mga past nya ayaw nyang makita kasi pinag-aaralang mabuti, not only by the enforcers but also by media personalities," he said.

On Monday, Senator Risa Hontiveros again urged Guo to answer the allegations against her at the Senate after the embattled mayor posted on her official Facebook page insisting that she is a Filipino and called for a halt to the spread of false information about her.

After Hontiveros called her out, Guo's Facebook page has since been taken down.

Last week, on her supposed birthday,  Guo posted a lengthy message thanking the people of her town for their continued support despite the accusations hurled against her, stressing that she has no regrets that she entered politics even if it has been a painful personal experience for her.

In the same post, she maintained that she is a Filipino citizen.

"Ako po ay isang FILIPINO. At MAY MALAKING puso for BAMBAN at mahal na mahal ko ang Pilipinas."

Guo's Facebook 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.

Her legal counsel Stephen David previously said Guo skipped the Senate hearings as the proceedings have left the embattled mayor "traumatized" and also affected her physical and mental health.

The Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality 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.

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