SENATE deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros yesterday said suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo can seek all legal remedies to stop the Senate from its investigation on her alleged links to illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) but stressed that ignoring a subpoena “has consequences.”
Hontiveros issued the statement after the camp of Guo last Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to stop the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality from further inviting her to appear as a resource person, saying the past hearings have taken a toll on her mental and physical health.
“Our courts are open to all individuals, regardless of nationality. Kaya kahit hindi siya Pilipino, may karapatan pa rin si Mayor Alice Guo na pumunta sa Supreme Court (Even if she is not a Filipino citizen, Mayor Alice Gup still has the right to go to the Supreme Court). We await a copy of their petition,” Hontiveros said.
“On our part, at the Senate, the law is clear: ignoring a subpoena has consequences. Adhering to a subpoena has never been optional,” she added.
Last Wednesday, the committee cited Guo, her siblings, her father, her suspected mother, Nancy Gamo, the family’s accountant; and Dennis Cunanan, the former Technology and Livelihood Resource Center director, for their continued absence during hearings.
The citation will set the motion for Senate President Francis Escudero to issue a warrant of arrest for the resource persons who skipped the hearing.
Last Tuesday, Guo sent a letter to Hontiveros, the panel chairman, informing her that she would still skip the hearing, citing mental and physical health issues. Guo was also absent during another hearing last June 26.
Sen. Nancy Binay said the use of mental health as a “convenient excuse” to avoid congressional hearings is a serious matter as it sends a “dangerous message” that mental health can be manipulated as a legal shield which may potentially lead to the further stigmatization of mental health conditions.
“There has been a concerning trend attempting to use mental health as a way to avoid appearing before the Senate. Ang ayaw po nating mangyari ay magamit ang Senado at maging precedent) We don’t want the Senate to be used as a precedent),” Binay said.
Meanwhile, the camp of Mayor Guo said she is not keen on seeking reelection in next year’s midterm elections.
In an interview with ABS-CBN, Guo’s lawyer, Stephen David, said Guo would most likely not seek reelection.
Guo, in an interview with the same network last May, said she has no intention of stepping down amid the controversies she is facing, adding she would seek reelection in 2025, banking on her constituents’ support.
Guo is in the middle of controversies for her alleged links to POGO hubs that have been raided in Bamban due to alleged illegal activities. Her citizenship is also in question after the National Bureau of Investigation said that she and Guo Hua Ping, a Chinese who entered the country in 2003 when she was only 13 years old, have the same fingerprints.
The Office of the Solicitor General is seeking cancellation of her birth records and is set to file a quo warranto case to invalidate Guo’s election.
Last month, the Nationalist People’s Coalition, Guo’s political party, expelled her due to the issues hounding her.
David said Guo still has the right to seek reelection and let the people of Bamban decide.
