Gatchalian: Alice Guo wrote Escudero explaining absence in Senate hearings

The camp of suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo has sent a letter to Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero explaining why she did not attend the latest hearings into the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in her town, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said Tuesday.

Gatchalian said he got the information upon talking with Escudero on Monday after the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

“Napagalaman natin na nagpadala pala itong si…’yung abugado ni Guo Hua Ping kay Senate President ng sulat na nagpapaliwanag kung bakit siya hindi nakadalo. Sabi niya, hindi naman niya intensyon nai-disrespect o i-walang respeto ang Senado. ‘Di rin niya intensyon na ibalewala ang proseso ng ating bansa,” the senator said in an Unang Balita interview.

(We found out that Guo Hua Ping's lawyer sent a letter to the Senate President explaining why she was not able to attend. She said it was not her intention to disrespect the Senate. She also said she does not intend to ignore the process of our country.)

Gatchalian, however, emphasized that he considers Guo’s letter “empty” as there was no mention if she will already attend the next Senate hearings.

“Wala naman siyang pangako kung pupunta o hindi pupunta sa mga susunod na pagdinig. Wala rin siyang sinabi kung ano ‘yung mga gagawin niya sa mga susunod. So, parang empty letter lang para sa akin,” he added.

(She did not commit whether she will attend the next hearings or not. She also did not mention her next steps. So, this is like an empty letter for me.) 

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

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

Earlier this month, the Senate issued an arrest order against Guo for repeatedly failing to attend the upper chamber’s investigation.

She 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.”

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.

Guo's awyer, Atty. Stephen David, said that the public official is already looking into when and how she would turn herself in before the Senate.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, meanwhile, said there is still no information about Guo’s whereabouts.

“Sa kabila ng payo ‘di umano ng kanyang abugado na magpakita na siya sa amin, ni anino niya ng kanyang miyembro ng pamilya ay hindi pa makita” she said.

(Despite her lawyer's advice to show herself to us, we could not still find her or any of her family members.)

Hontiveros said that the Senate’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms, along with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is still looking for Guo and her family. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News