Alice Guo arrives at the Senate for POGO hearing

Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo arrived at the Senate in Pasay City from Pasig City Jail on Tuesday morning to attend the probe into Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO), the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) said.

“Actually, nasa Senate na sila at 7 a.m. (Actually, they are already in the Senate at 7 a.m.),” BJMP spokesperson Jail Superintendent Jayrex Joseph Bustinera told GMA News Online.

She was transported by a BJMP vehicle with an ambulance, according to a report on GMA Integrated News' Unang Balita.

Guo is facing charges for graft, qualified human trafficking, money laundering, and tax evasion.

The Senate might wrap up this week the hearings on Guo and her alleged link to illegal POGO activities, according to Senate Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada on Monday.

“I think that will be the last hearing,” said Estrada, noting the senators failed to get all the information they needed from the captured former public official.

Estrada admitted it was frustrating to get a response from Guo after nearly four months of investigation by the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality.

“If she continues to invoke her right against self incrimination we cannot do anything about it, but as far as we’re concerned we are not asking incriminating questions, far from the cases filed against her,” he added.

Guo last attended a Senate hearing into illegal POGOs on September 9. For the second time, the Senate panel cited her in contempt for allegedly continuing to lie before the senators.

The dismissed mayor left the country in July despite a hold departure order from the Department of Justice. Guo was apprehended in Indonesia and brought back to the Philippines on September 6.

—VAL, GMA Integrated News