Shekinah Jedidiah Alima

After her failed escape from the Philippines, dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo has faced the Senate hearing on September 9, but insisted that she is a Filipino, provoking the committee to cite her in contempt for the second time.

Photo Courtesy of SunStar Philippines/ABS-CBN News.

Senator Risa Hontiveros who leads the inquiry for legislation of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality made the motion, as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping constantly refused to answer probe questions.

"Basta ako ang alam ko po ako si Alice Guo. Pasensya na rin po kung hindi po kayo naniniwala," Guo stressed when Hontiveros asked her whether she is Guo Hua Ping.

“Alice Guo, ladies and gentleman, is continuing to lie to this committee despite glaring evidence that she is a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping whose father, Jian Zhong Guo, is Chinese based on her own declaration in this committee and whose mother, Lin Wen Yi, is also Chinese based on her own declarations in banks documents by the way verified by the AMLC (Anti-Money Laundering Council),” Hontiveros reiterated.

During the hearing, Guo, who wore a bullet-proof vest did not disclose any information about the person responsible for facilitating her escape, citing safety reasons. 

“Andito po ako, safe na safe po ako, alam ko po ‘yun. Pero, pagkatapos po ng session, paano po ako? Doon po ako nagwo-worry, kaya ayaw ko po mag-disclose sa public,” Guo explained.

She also claimed that the person threatening her safety facilitated her escape, and it was not her motive.

Guo evaded Senate hearings since May for alleged human-trafficking and ties with illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in Bamban and escaped the country through a “yacht” on July 18.

She was previously cited in contempt by the Senate in July, and issued an arrest warrant for being no-show at the hearings.

Her custody will fall under the PNP, and the Senate must ask for their permission for Guo’s presence in Committee hearings. 

The Senate has the right to “punish or cite in contempt any witness before the Committee who disobeys any order of the Committee or refuses to be sworn or to testify or to answer a proper question by the Committee or any of its members” according to the Senate Resolution on hearing procedures.

She was arrested by Indonesian authorities in Tangerang City on Sept. 4, and returned to the country on Sept. 6 through a chartered flight accompanied by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos and Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Rommel Francisco.

Guo is currently facing criminal cases including 87 counts of money laundering and qualified human trafficking complaints before the Department of Justice.