Shiela Guo could be state witness, says DOJ official

An official of the Department of Justice (DOJ) expressed belief Wednesday that Shiela Guo, the purported sister of dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo, is qualified to be a state witness.

“Ako, ayaw ko naman pangunahan ano, pero qualified siya eh (I don't want to get ahead of myself, but she's qualified.),” Justice Undersecretary Nicky Ty said in an ambush interview when asked on the matter.

“Kasi kung tutuusin mo, hindi naman siya ‘yung pinaka may pakana nitong illegal na bagay. Kung maniniwala tayo kahapon sa mga asta niya eh parang nadamay lang siya or napahamak lang siya ng mga kasamahan niya,” he added.

(If you'll think about it, she isn't the mastermind behind this illegal activity. If we will believe her, it seems like she was just dragged into it or was brought into it by her companions.)

Ty, however, stressed that this is only a possibility.

“Madami pa talaga kailangan mangyari bago maging state witness ito. Kung mangyari man 'yun,” he said.

(A lot of things still need to happen before this, if it ever will happen.)

However, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Shiela is unreliable and could not be a state witness. 

“Hindi reliable eh (she’s not reliable),” Remulla said in an ambush interview at the Senate after a budget hearing when on the matter.

“‘Yung reliability nung kanyang mga sinasabi ang problema natin eh. Hindi siya reliable witness so far. Kailangan talaga patunayan na kailangang-kailangan ‘yung kanyang testimonya upang mangyari ang lahat,” he added.

(The reliability is the problem here. She’s not a reliable witness so far. It needs to be proven that her testimony is really needed for this to happen.)

Last week, the National Bureau of Investigation said that Shiela Guo is a Chinese citizen named Zhang Mier who “fraudulently acquired” a Philippine passport.

During the Senate hearing on Tuesday, Guo admitted that she was not born in the Philippines but in China and that she only arrived in the country in 2001 when she was brought by her foster father to help in his business. 

Meanwhile, she repeatedly denied knowing about the operations of the raided POGO in Bamban as well as the location of her supposed sister.

According to Ty, the DOJ and the courts will determine who may be a state witness. 

“Pag state witness ano 'yan eh, kadalasan— dapat may kaso na. Dapat makasuhan siya at habang nakakasuhan siya madi-discharge siya on the ground that she will be a state witness,” he said.

(A case should be filed before one can be considered a state witness. They should be charged and while the case is ongoing, they should be discharged on the ground that they will be a state witness.)

The National Prosecution Service (NPS) has recommended the filing of charges against Shiela Guo and Cassandra Li Ong, the authorized representative of the raided POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga.

It recommended charges be filed against Guo for disobedience to summons issued by the Senate as well as for allegedly using a fake Philippine passport.—AOL, GMA Integrated News