Hontiveros: Senate to probe Alice Guo's 'trail'

The Senate committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality will schedule a hearing to investigate the "trail" of dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo who reportedly departed from the Philippines in July.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, chairperson of the committee, said this at a press conference a day after she disclosed information that Guo, who is also identified as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, arrived in Malaysia last July 18 and then went to Singapore to supposedly meet her parents and her brother.

"Hindi po namin palalamigin 'yung trail ng Guo Hua Ping na 'yan," Hontiveros said.

According to Hontiveros, the Senate panel is just finalizing the venue and the list of resource persons to be invited in the next hearing before they can set the date.

"Kailangan naming malaman kung paano siya nakatakas sa pagdakip ng ating law enforcement authorities bilang siya ay subject ng Senate warrant of arrest. Paano siya nakalabas sa Pilipinas dahil siya ay nakalista na sa Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order," she said.

"Paano siya nakakagamit pa rin ng Philippine passport kahit napatunayan nang hindi siya Filipino national at walang karapatan sa travel document na 'yan. Paano siya nakakapunta at palipat-lipat sa iba't ibang bansa," she went on.

"Posibleng ang problema sa immigration authorities ay hindi lamang sa ating bansa."

'Unacceptable'

The panel is also looking into inviting lawyer Elmer Galicia who, according to Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, notarized Guo's counter-affidavit that was submitted to the Department of Justice.

In an ambush interview, Provincial Prosecutor Sonny Ocampo said Galicia supposedly notarized Guo’s counter-affidavit in San Jose Del Monte Bulacan after Guo appeared before him.

“It appears that on August 14, 2024 at around 7 o'clock p.m nung dumating siya sa opisina, nandoon na ‘yung isang Land Cruiser. Onboard is Ms. Alice Guo. May nag arrange sa kanya na may pupunta daw doon para magpa notaryo,” Ocampo said.

“Ngayon nag kausap sila ni Alice Guo doon sa baba ng kanyang opisina. Nakita niya at nag presenta ng kanyang driver’s license si Alice Guo sa kanya. Then he notarized the counter-affidavit,” he added.
Hontiveros said it is possible that Galicia really saw Guo last August but it is also possible that the lawyer was lying.

While both of these are possible, Hontiveros said these two scenarios are "unacceptable."

"Either of those are unacceptable. Dahil kung labas-masok si Guo Hua Ping dito sa Pilipinas, thumbing her nose sa warrant of arrest ng Senado, eh di dumadami yung mga pagkakataon na kailangang ipaliwanag ng ating mga law enforcement authorities," Hontiveros said.

"Kung naman nagsisinungaling yung abugadong iyon, accountable din po siya. So we will get to the bottom of both those questions," she added.

Meanwhile, Prosecutor Darwin Cañete said that Galicia committed to authorities that he will file an affidavit. Canete said Galicia was “cooperative” and “informative.”

“He committed to file an affidavit and to cooperate so we will be waiting for him to put it in written form… to put it in black and white,” Cañete said.

Still in PH?

Meanwhile, prosecutors on Tuesday said that a notary public told them that Guo personally visited his office in Bulacan on August 14.

Earlier in the day, Guo's lawyer, Atty. Stephen David, citing the dismissed mayor herself, said Guo was still in the Philippines.

David said he was able to talk with Guo on Monday, August 19, and she told him that she is still in the country.

The lawyer, however, admitted that he cannot confirm the information and has no idea where she is exactly.

Hontiveros refuted this, saying the information from various Philippine government agencies and foreign authorities corroborates that Guo had already left the country.

"Kung nagpupumilit pa rin ang kampo ni Guo Hua Ping na nandito siya, medyo mabigat ang kailangan nilang patunayan at mabibigat 'yung kailangan nilang i-discredit na mga information mula sa mga very credible sources na may interest sa kasong ito," she said.

David made the statement even as the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) also said that the dismissed mayor had left the country, visiting at least three countries in Southeast Asia, the latest being Indonesia.

Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco, citing intelligence information, said that Guo slipped out of the country without passing through Philippine immigration authorities.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Tuesday morning confirmed that Guo is currently in Indonesia, arriving there nearly a month after departure from the Philippines.

The bureau is now backtracking Guo's movements to determine the persons behind her travel, Sandoval said. The BI is also not ruling out the possibility that some immigration officials have been helping the mayor. —with reports from Joahna Lei Casilao/ VAL, GMA Integrated News