Alice Guo on business partners: Hindi ko alam na sila ay kriminal

Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo said Thursday she was unaware that some of her business partners were criminals

During a hearing at the House of Representatives, PBA Party-list Representative Rep. Margarita B. Nograles asked Guo why she joined Baofu Corporation considering that its incorporators Zhang Ruijin and Lin Baoying are criminals.

“Sa question ninyo po bakit po ako nakipag-ugnayan sa mga kriminal. Your honor, hindi ko po alam na sila ay kriminal. Ang nakilala ko po diyan ay si Huang Zhiyang way back 2017 or 2016. Nakikita ko normal naman labas pasok naman ng bansa. Normal naman, may negosyo po sa Clark,” Guo said.

(As for your question, why did I interact with criminals? Your honor, I did not know that they were criminals. The one I met was Huang Zhiyang way back in 2017 or 2016. I see them as normal, going in and out of the country. They are normal, they have a business in Clark.)

Guo pointed out that she only knew and talked to Huang, who included the Zhang and Lin as incorporators of Baofu.

Based on a statement from the Public Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force issued on May 30, Zhang and Lin were found guilty of two counts of fraudulently using a forged document and one count of money laundering. They were sentenced to 15 months imprisonment. 

During the hearing, the dismissed mayor repeatedly invoked her right against self-incrimination when asked about the corporation. 

Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro pointed out that many personalities being linked to Guo originated from Fujian, China including the two Baofu incorporators, businessmen who made her a congratulatory poster, and her mother.

“The poster showing congratulatory greeting about the first Chinese mayor, this came from businessmen here in Manila who originated from Fujian, China. In the Bureau of Immigration records, where Guo Huaping was described as a dependent of her mother Lin Wen Yi, the mother was described as from Fujian, China. Based on research, the two incorporators by the name of Lin Baoying and Ruijin Zhang, both convicted of anti-money laundering in Singapore, are also from Fuijan, China,” Luistro said.

“So I wonder if these are merely coincidences. And I came across my research as well about the Fujian gang,” she added.

Asked about the Fujian gang, Guo said “I am not aware. First time ko po siyang narinig ngayong araw (It is my first time hearing that today).”

The "Quadcom"—the House committees on dangerous drugs, public order and safety, human rights, and public accounts—has been conducting a probe into extrajudicial killings, illegal drugs, and Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators.

Guo is being linked to the operations of a POGO hub that was raided by law enforcement authorities in Bamban over reported illegal activities.—AOL, GMA Integrated News