'Professional liars': Gatchalian warns vs. believing Shiela Guo's inconsistent testimony

For Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, the Senate should carefully examine the testimonies of Shiela Guo, the supposed sister of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, as he noted the gaps and the inconsistencies of her narrative.

"Para sa akin maraming kulang sa kanyang kuwento, maraming gaps o maraming butas sa kanyang kwento," Gatchalian said at the Kapihan sa Senado forum after the first hearing into how dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo and her alleged cohorts managed to leave the country.

(For me, there's a lot missing from her story. There are many gaps or many holes in her narrative.)

He noted that Shiela Guo's narrative is "the same" with that of Alice Guo and the Senate should not accept their stories "hook, line and sinker."

"We have to be very careful with this Guo family. Parang ano sila eh mga professional liars and professional swindlers. Nakita natin nung una kay Guo Hua Ping 'di ba, lumaki sa farm, homeschooled, simple lang, inosente pero if you look at the documents and if you look at the evidence, hindi siya ganun, much more sophisticated siya," Gatchalian said, referring to the dismissed mayor who has the same fingerprints as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping.

(We have to be extremely cautious when dealing with the Guo family. They are professionals when it comes to lying and swindling. Remember how we initially perceived Guo Hua Ping - she grew up on a farm, was homeschooled, and seemed simple and innocent. However, if you examine the documents and evidence, it's clear that's not the case at all; she's actually much more sophisticated.)

One of the examples that Gatchalian noted from Shiela's testimony was her narrative that she never asked Alice about their destination when she was requested by the dismissed mayor to accompany her in their travel.

Another one is Shiela's testimony that she did not know Cassandra Li Ong personally until they met in Malaysia. Gatchalian earlier pointed out that Shiela knew that Ong is the girlfriend of her supposed brother, Wesley Guo and that they traveled to Taipei in February 2024.

For Gatchalian, Ong being Wesley Guo's girlfriend is a "clear link" between the POGO hubs in Bamban and in Porac. Both compounds were raided after authorities said they received information these establishments were hosting several alleged illegal activities.

The departure of the Guo siblings with Ong and Warren Yu, whom Gatchalian believed to be the mastermind of the POGO hub in Porac, also strengthens the theory that it is linked to the POGO hub in Bamban.

Further, Gatchalian noted that Shiela has repeatedly asserted that she is a mere employee in the embroidery business of the Guo family and she likewise denied holding executive positions such as chief financial officer and corporate secretary in several companies owned by the Guos.

But documents Gatchalian presented showed that Shiela signed important documents over the span of nine to 10 years for at least 93 times.

"May possibility na itong Guo family ginagamit lang ang mga taong ito para pumirma ng mga dokumento at gawing pain para kung may mangyari, sila ang magiging scapegoat, sila yung babagsakan ng mga kaso, si Shiela," he said.

(It's possible that the Guo family is only using these people to sign documents and make them scapegoats, so if anything happens, they'll be the ones to take the fall, and they will be pinning the blame on Shiela.)

"So maraming butas, maraming hindi siya sinasabi. ‘Yun ang punto ko. Nagku-kuwento siya pero kulang kulang ang kanyang kinukwento," the senator noted.

(There are a lot of holes, and she is withholding a lot of details. This is my point. She's talking, but her story is far from complete.)

Gatchalian said it is possible for Shiela to be transferred to a detention facility outside the Senate if she will not cooperate or provide further details she is believed to have knowledge of.

If Shiela will be considered a state witness, Gatchalian said she must give information about Alice's involvement in POGO operations and other illegal activities.

But he thinks that it would be difficult for Shiela to do so as the lawyer counseling her is the same lawyer employed by Alice.

"Ang hinala ko si Alice pa ang nagbabayad ng abogado niya (Shiela)," he noted.

(My suspicion is that it's still Alice who's paying for Shiela's lawyer fees.)

Meanwhile, Gatchalian said he believes Shiela's admission that she is not Alice's biological sister because they have different surnames in their Chinese passports.

He also revealed information supposedly from the workers of Guo family's business that Alice was introducing Shiela as a cousin or sometimes as a close family friend.

Right now, Gatchalian said the Senate secretariat is already "polishing" the cases of perjury and disobedience to summons which they will file against Alice "anytime soon."

"This is a bailable offense so pwede siyang mag bail. But pwede rin namang mag request ang Senado for a hold departure order depende sa gravity ng kaso niya...lalo na na lumalabas na sentro siya sa krimen na nangyayari so we can request for that from the courts," he said.

(This is a bailable offense so she can post bail. But the Senate can request for a hold departure order depending on the gravity of her case... especially now it appears she is in the center of an ongoing crime so we can request that from the courts.)

The Senate subcommittee on justice and human rights will continue the investigation into Alice and her alleged cohorts' escape on September 2.

During the first hearing, Shiela confirmed that she, Alice and Wesley were together when they left the Philippines via several boat rides.

The complete trail of their escape, however, still needs clarification as Senator Risa Hontiveros, chairperson of the subcommittee, noticed "conflicting" information in their entry to Malaysia.

According to the latest information from the Bureau of Immigration, Alice was reportedly in Jakarta, Indonesia last August 26. —RF, GMA Integrated News