THE Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality on Monday cited dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo in contempt for the second time, accusing her of continuing to lie before senators regarding her true identity.
This decision followed Guo’s repeated refusal to answer questions related to her nationality despite overwhelming evidence suggesting she is a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping.
“Alice Guo 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 bank documents verified by the AMLC,” stated Senator Risa Hontiveros, chairperson of the panel. “This is a blatant defiance of the legislative’s constitutional power of inquiry. It appears you are playing with our laws and deceiving Filipinos, but don’t try that with the Senate.”
Hontiveros moved to cite Guo in contempt for “testifying falsely and evasively” before the committee, a motion seconded by Senator Joel Villanueva.
During the hearing, Guo insisted on being born in Tarlac, Philippines, despite the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) confirming a fingerprint match with Guo Hua Ping. She refused to acknowledge her true identity, stating, “Honestly, I don’t know how it happened. I just know that I am Alice Guo. And I’m sorry if you don’t believe me.”
This was Guo’s first appearance at the Senate investigation since fleeing the country in July. She last attended a Senate hearing on May 22, before illegally leaving for Indonesia. She was apprehended and brought back to the Philippines last week.
Guo is facing human trafficking complaints, among other charges, and is linked to the operations of an illegal POGO hub that was raided by law enforcement authorities in Bamban.
In July, the Senate ordered Guo and her family members’ arrest for repeatedly failing to attend the investigation into the raided POGO hub in her town.
