THE Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms has delivered subpoenas to suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, her siblings, and other resource persons to compel them to attend the resumption of the Senate hearing on Wednesday regarding the ills of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) but most of them were nowhere to be found.
Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Roberto Angcan said the subpoenas for Alice Guo, Shiela Leal Guo, Wesley Leal Guo, and Jian Zhang Guo (father of Mayor Guo) were not served at their given addresses in Barangay Virgen delos Remedios in Bamban because a farm helper said he does not know the whereabouts of the mayor.
“Furthermore, he (the farm helper) stated that he does not know siblings Shiela and Wesley, and Jiang hence he refused (to receive) the subpoenas. Nevertheless, our servers gave copies of the subpoenas to (the farm helper) if ever Mayor Guo and her siblings arrive at the farm,” Angcan said in a letter to Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontivero, who chairs the Committee on Women, dated July 4, 2024.
The National Bureau of Investigation has unmasked Mayor Guo as a Chinese masquerading as a Filipino. Her fingerprints matched that of Guo Hua Ping, the 13-year-old girl who entered the country in January 2003.
In an interview with GMA’s Dobol B TV, Guo’s lawyer, Stephen David, said the mayor has suffered from past hearings that she might not be able to attend the resumption of the inquiry on Wednesday even if a subpoena has been issued on her.
“When I talked to her, she said that it is most likely that she cannot attend the hearing because she was traumatized. You can just imagine the allegations against her, aside from being shouted at during the hearings),” David said. “Her stress level is already so high that she is now traumatized each time she hears that there will be another Senate hearing.”
Hontiveros said Mayor Guo is not the only one traumatized by the illegal POGO operations.
“It is not only her who is traumatized. The victims of human trafficking — foreigners and Filipinos who were forced to work in POGO scam compounds — are also traumatized. Even the Filipino people themselves are traumatized because there is a Chinese who was elected mayor in the Philippines,” Hontiveros said.
While the mental health of a person is important, she said Guo “cannot invoke it to escape accountability” especially after she became a public servant.
“She dug her own grave. We merely asked basic questions that any upright human being could answer. Now that she is cornered, she is now playing victim,” she said in a mix of Filipino and English.
“If she doesn’t honor the subpoena, the Senate is well within its rights to issue an arrest order. Dumalo na lang siya sa Miyerkules para wala nang drama (She should just attend the hearing in Wednesday, and stop the drama),” she added.
SUBPOENAS NOT ACCEPTED
Angcan said their servers proceeded to the Bamban Municipal Hall but Apple Dizon, the personal secretary of the mayor, refused to accept the subpoenas. The servers also delivered the subpoenas for Lin Wen Yi, the reported mother of the mayor; and Siemen Leal Guo but these were also not accepted at the municipal hall.
“Our servers again gave copies of the subpoenas and letter of invitation to the mayor’s office,” Angcan said.
A copy of the subpoena for Mayor Guo was furnished to her lawyers last July 5 but her legal team did not receive the subpoenas for the mayor’s siblings since they are not their clients.
“As much as we want to comply with the processes of the Senate Committee, we regret to inform you that we do not represent the abovenamed individuals. Thus, we have no knowledge of their whereabouts nor do we have any sort of communication with any of them. As previously communicated through e-mail, we would like to clarify and make it of record that our law firm only represents Mayor Alice Leal Guo, and her alone,” said Atty. Nicole Rose Margaret Jamilla of the David and Jamilla Law Offices.
Angcan said a subpoena was also delivered to Nancy Jimenez Gamo, the accountant of the Guo family, at her listed address in Caloocan City but this was only received by her liaison officer.
He said the subpoena for Jaimielyn Cruz, the listed president and chairman of Zun Yuan Technologies Inc. which operates the POGO hub raided last March, was not served since she is not listed as a resident of her given address in a subdivision in Barangay Sauyo, Novaliches, Quezon City.
The subpoena for Roderick Paul Pujante, listed as Zun Yuan’s director and treasurer, was also not served since he no longer resides at his given address in Barangay West Triangle in QC as certified by barangay officials.
The subpoena for Juan Miguel Alpas, corporate secretary of Zun Yuan, was also not served at his given address. Residents in the area said the house has been vacant for several weeks.
David said Mayor Guo is not keen on attending the Senate committee hearing this week, stressing she has been traumatized by what happened during past hearings on the illegal POGO hub raided in her hometown.
David said they know the consequences of not attending the hearing, adding it is up to the senators to make their next move.
He said the bashing Guo is getting from netizens adds to her stress level.
“She is not corrupt, nor has she killed someone. She cannot understand why she is being bashed; she is loved by her townmates. Why is she being treated like that?” he added.
David also questioned the authenticity of the documents unearthed by the NBI regarding the fingerprints of the mayor and Guo Hua Ping, saying he doubts if the government has an efficient way of storing documents from way back.
“To my knowledge, records which are five or 10 years old are being destroyed,” he said.
He said the issues on Guo’s citizenship should best be brought to the courts where they can be thoroughly examined.
Guo has been one of the subjects of the Committee on Women investigation after her name appeared in several documents related to the operations of a POGO hub raided in Bamban last March and another POGO facility in her hometown that was raided in February 2023.
Go skipped the committee hearing last June 26.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has ordered the creation of a fact-finding panel that will zero in on the possible liability of Mayor Guo when she ran during the May 2022 polls.
“In view of public interest in the controversy surrounding Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, you are directed to create a Fact-Finding Committee to investigate her candidacy for the 2022 National and Local Elections,” Comelec chief George Garcia told the body’s Law Department.
“The Committee shall determine whether there was material misrepresentation in her Certificate of Candidacy, which would warrant the filing of an election offense case,” he added.
The poll chief ordered the panel to coordinate with the NBI, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), and the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality for relevant pieces of information.
Garcia said the committee will also conduct a technical analysis of documents containing the fingerprints of registered voters, which bear the name Alice Guo, to determine her culpability, if any.
“It shall recommend to the Commission En Banc the filing of a case if evidence warrants,” said Garcia.
In her COC, Guo declared Tarlac, Tarlac as her place of birth, and that she has been living in the Philippines for 35 years and two months.
RECTO’S STAND
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto yesterday said he is not in favor of the operations of POGOs in the country.
Recto told reporters on the sidelines of a forum hosted by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines that he is submitting his recommendation to the President regarding POGOs.
“Frankly, I’m not a fan of gambling; two, I’m not a fan of POGOs. But if they were not doing any hanky-panky and they were paying taxes, fine with me. If they’re not doing anything wrong, I suppose they can continue. But, in general, I don’t think we have to pin our hopes on POGOs. So in my case, with regard to the DOF (Department of Finance), I’m not in favor of POGO,” he added.
Recto said there are many issues surrounding the POGO industry, particularly those involved in illegal activities.
“Because of that, I’m willing to recommend to the President not to continue POGO,” Recto said. — With Gerard Naval and Angela Celis
