SENATE deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday night branded Guo as a “professional scam artist” after the National Bureau of Investigation found out that the signature on her counter-affidavit for qualified human trafficking charges was not hers.
“Guo Hua Ping is a professional scam artist. Her identity is built on lies,” Hontiveros said.
She made the remark after the NBI’s Questioned Documents Division said the signature of Guo in her counter-affidavit did not match her signature in the Senate attendance sheet.
Last Tuesday, Guo said she signed the partially completed counter-affidavit days before she escaped from the country last July.
The counter-affidavit was notarized last August 14 by Atty. Elmer Galicia in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.
Cath Salazar, the secretary of Guo, told the Committee on Women that she was instructed by Guo to get a brown envelope in the dismissed mayor’s room in Bambam that contained the signed last page of the counter-affidavit. Salazar said Guo instructed her to attach the signed page to the finished counter-affidavit.
Galicia notarized the document without the presence of Guo. He said somebody who looked like Guo who was inside the vehicle parked in front of his office waved at him and he assumed that it was Guo.
Hontiveros said the latest NBI finding reinforces their belief that Guo is a liar.
“Guo and her lawyer said that she signed the counter-affidavit before she escaped. But the NBI said that it was another person who signed it. This is only one of the webs of lies Guo is spreading,” Hontiveros said.
She said Guo should not be the only one who must be held accountable.
“But again, the bigger picture is: who helped facilitate this? Who aided her escape?” she added.
The Senate Committee on Women will hold another hearing on September 24.
PNP chief Rommel Francisco Marbil said the police force was badly affected by the pronouncement of a Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation official that a former PNP chief was on the take from illegal POGOs.
Marbil said they will write a letter to Pagcor Vice President for Security Raul Villanueva asking him to identify the former PNP chief, saying: “We are not happy with what he said. Since he was under oath, he has to tell us because it affects the whole organization.”
Marbil said he has ordered an investigation on 24 former PNP chiefs.
“We are making a letter addressed to Gen. Villanueva to name names. He was under oath [when he said that in the Senate] so he has to tell us who that former PNP chief is,” Marbil told senators during the briefing on the proposed PNP budget for next year.
“We have no report coming from Gen. Villanueva regarding his claim but we are investigating 24 of our former chief PNP,” he added.
During last Tuesday’s hearing, Hontiveros asked the resource persons from various agencies if they had established how and who helped Guo and her siblings escape from the country.
The Bureau of Immigration said it still does not have definitive findings and its investigations are ongoing, adding it would file appropriate charges if its personnel were found to be involved in Guo’s escape.
Hontiveros then asked Villanueva, who said there were talks in the intelligence community that a former PNP chief was on the take on illegal POGOs, but added the information was unconfirmed.
Resource persons from other law enforcement agencies during the hearing said they had no information on Villanueva’s statement.
Villanueva, a retired Army general, was previously assigned to the Intelligence Service of the AFP.
A military officer described Villanueva as a “very good intelligence operator” while another officer said Villanueva is an expert in “technical and tactical intercepts.”
“Gen. Villanueva should give us the name so we can clear the PNP. It affects the whole PNP. You could just imagine, an ex-PNP chief receiving a bribe,” said Marbil.
“We are being maligned and it really affects us. That is why I said Gen. Villanueva, he better name that person. Give us the name, we will investigate and put him in jail,” said Marbil.
Marbil said has ordered the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detection to lead the investigation.
“We are open to investigating anyone and I say let’s investigate all our ex-PNP chiefs. If there is evidence, then we will pursue a case and all the people (policemen) involved, former and present,” said Marbil. — With Victor Reyes
