Villanueva: Senate shouldn’t take docu tagging Alice Guo Chinese spy as truth

While the Senate might look into the Al Jazeera documentary tagging dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo as a Chinese spy, Senator Joel Villanueva said it should not be taken as a whole truth.

"Puwede nating tignan 'yan ngunit hindi 'yan ang magiging basehan ng ating committee report. Kaming mga senador alam na natin 'yan, lalo na 'yung medyo matatagal na rito, hindi tayo nag-iimbestiga just to get someone else's report or conclusion. Dapat may sarili tayo dito," Villanueva said in a chance interview with reporters.

(We can look into that, but it won't be the basis of our committee report. As senators, we already know that, especially those of us who have been here for a while - we don't investigate just to adopt someone else's report or conclusion. We need to have our own in this matter.)

"Hindi tayo dapat umasa at hindi dapat natin paniwalaan in toto 'yung mga sinasabi, whether this is an international news outlet, ito ay galing sa ibang bansa na mga intel reports, etcetera, dapat may sarili tayo...dapat meron tayong sariling ginagawa at kayang suportahan ng ating mga information," he added.

(We shouldn't put our trust entirely in these statements, whether they come from an international news outlet, foreign intel reports, or otherwise. We should have our own investigation...we should have our own processes in place, backed by our own information.)

Although he raised this point, Villanueva said he is not dismissing the possibility that Guo is a spy.

"We are just saying that we cannot make that conclusion right away. We just wanted to make sure that we have our own investigation and we make sure that our investigation, our information-gathering actually works," he explained.

The documentary which was played before the House QuadComm inquiry last Friday showed jailed tycoon She Zhijiang's explosive allegations about Chinese spies and an international conspiracy.

He is linked to scam sites involved in human trafficking and forced labor.

In the interview from behind bars, he revealed that he was allegedly recruited to be a Chinese spy in the Philippines and one of the Chinese government's secrets that he was keeping involved Guo. He said he used his handler’s mobile phone to contact Guo Hua Ping, or Alice Guo, in the Philippines.

Guo also allegedly asked him to fund her political campaign.

In the dosier from She's files that was presented in the documentary, it was indicated that Guo was from Fujian, China and her mother was Wen Yi Lin. The information gathered by Al Jazeera was corroborated by Guo's neighbors who claimed that the dismissed mayor had left their home in 2002.

Guo denied that she is a Chinese spy as she insisted of not knowing She Zhijiang. 

Over the weekend, Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino said Guo will be questioned in the next executive session at the Senate regarding the matter.  

A quick executive session was already held by the Senate committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality last week.

In the same interview, Villanueva said it would be "absurd" if Guo will file a certificate of candidacy for 2025.

"That's absurd because number one, 'yung birth certificate niya proven na na peke. Number two, proven sa kaniyang fingerprints and all other things na nakita ng NBI na iisa si Guo Hua Ping at si Alice Guo...'Yung ebidensya is masyadong matibay," Villanueva said.

(That's absurd, because number one, her birth certificate has been proven to be fraudulently acquired. Number two, her fingerprints and all other information seen by the NBI confirm that Guo Hua Ping and Alice Guo are one and the same person. The evidence against her is very strong.)

Earlier, the Commission on Elections said that Guo can still file a COC despite her dismissal.

Guo is facing graft and trafficking cases, as well as money laundering due to her alleged involvement in POGO operations in Bamban, Tarlac. She is currently detained at the Pasig City Jail Female Dormitory.—AOL, GMA Integrated News