Repeated refusal to answer, senators growing impatient: Highlights of Alice Guo's first Senate hearing after arrest
Dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo has appeared before the Senate after her arrest in Indonesia.
Three months since her last Senate committee hearing, her latest session saw her repeated refusal to answer questions amid supposed death threats, senators losing their patience, and her being cited in contempt anew.
During the Sept. 9 hearing which investigates the alleged illegal activities of POGO hubs in Alice's town, senators in their opening statements criticized her for the lies and how she made a mockery of Philippine laws. She's also reminded of the cases she's facing like money laundering, tax evasion, and human trafficking, among others.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who chairs the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, explicitly asked Alice if she's the Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping.
Instead of answering directly, Alice noted she'd only answer in court amid her pending cases. Hontiveros reminded her that her answers wouldn't incriminate her, but she refused to answer anyway.
Senators told Alice that she's safe under the watch of the Philippine National Police and even the National Bureau of Investigation, but still didn't budge.
"Alice Guo is continuing to lie to this committee," Hontiveros said, "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 bank documents."
"Lumalabas na pinaglalaruan mo ang aming batas at pinapaikot mo ang mga Pilipino. Pero ibahin mo ang Senado," she added.
She insisted that her name is Alice Guo and that she's born in Tarlac.
Despite being presented with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)'s findings that she and Hua Ping's fingerprints are identical, she continued to insist otherwise.
“Honestly, hindi ko po alam kung paano nangyari. Basta alam ko alam ko ako po si Alice Guo," she said. "Pasensiya na rin po kung hindi kayo naniniwala."
Alice was cited in contempt for "testifying falsely and evasively" before the Senate committee.
It's her second contempt citation, with the first one being in July amid her repeated absence from the Senate hearing.
On Guo's escape
Senators asked Alice more questions regarding her escape but she gave little to no details but that she left the country via boats, one of which was a yacht, through a port in Metro Manila.
The dismissed mayor initially refused to give the name of the owner and facilitator of the yacht, saying she's facing death threats. Instead, she was asked to write it down on a piece of paper but declined to do so as she asked the senators to not publicize the names.
"Do not tell the senators what to do with the information. Pinagbibigyan ka namin isulat sa papel," Hontiveros said.
Alice then explained that she wanted to share details, but Estrada was having none of it and cut her off.
"Gustong gusto mo pala, e di sabihin mo. Nakakapikon ka na. Nakakagigil ka na," he said.
Eventually, senators were able to convince her to write down the name of the individual who facilitated her escape. They didn't name the person publicly.
"Siya ang nag-initiate," Alice said, noting the person made decisions on her behalf. "Noong una siya nagdesisyon [para] sa 'kin. Noong pangalawa [I agreed kasi] may naririnig ako na [threats]."
Alice with her alleged siblings Shiela and Wesley Guo rode the yacht for a "few hours" and then transferred to a bigger boat. She said she didn't know the exact location during the transfer.
After the transfer, the dismissed mayor said they stayed in a room for up to five days though she's unaware of the time because they're not supposedly allowed to use their phones.
She also claimed to have felt afraid on her second boat ride and wanted to go back to the Philippines.
Alice said no Filipino, whether in the private sector or the government, helped her.
Local and foreign death threats
Alice also didn't go into detail about the supposed death threats she's been getting, which supposedly prompted her to leave the country.
"Gusto ko po idiscuss sa inyo, pero natatakot ako idiclose sa public," she said.
At best, she only said she got the death threats in June after senators pressed her.
"More than five times, through phone," she said.
Senators also quizzed Alice why she didn't file a police report immediately the moment she got the death threats.
"Natatakot po kasi ako sa safety ko," she said.
Sen. Bong Revilla then asked Alice if the threats were from a Filipino or a Chinese and after refusing to answer, she said she received them from local and foreign entities.
Alleged POGO ties
Alice, her siblings Shiela and Wesley, as well as Cassandra Li Ong, her alleged cohort who has ties to the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator Lucky South 99, left the Philippines in the middle of the Senate probe on POGOs.
Shiela and Ong were apprehended in Batam City on Aug. 20 and brought back on Aug. 22.
Shiela got an arrest order from the Senate due to immigration violations. The NBI also found that Shiela is a Chinese citizen named Zhang Mier who "fraudulently acquired" a Philippine passport upon examining her fingerprints and other records.
Ong, meanwhile, is facing charges of obstruction of justice and violation of the passport law, as well as a contempt order from the House of Representatives. She's one of the key persons who could help the government investigate the illegal operations of Lucky South 99 in Porac, Pampanga.
Tarlac's Regional Trial Court Branch 109 on Sept. 5 issued a warrant of arrest against Alice in connection to the graft case filed against her by DILG.
The DILG filed a case against Alice for alleged violation of Section 3(e) and 3(h) of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. The bail is set at P90,000 each or a total of P180,000.