NBI uncovers another ‘Shiela Guo’ in database
BY Raymond Africa and Ashzel Hachero
SENATE deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros yesterday said that Shiela Guo could be another case of stolen identity based on documents unearthed by the National Bureau of Investigation showing another person with the same name and birth details but with a different photo.
In an interview with GMA’s Unang Balita, Hontiveros said the NBI, in last Tuesday’s Senate hearing on the escape of Shiela, her purported sister Alice and brother Wesley from the country last July, presented two NBI clearances carrying the same names of Shiela Guo, same birthdays, and identical addresses with different profile pictures.
“Kaparehong birthday ni Shiela Guo na kaharap namin kahapon sa hearing pero ibang tao ang nasa photo. Parang ganoon din kay Alice Guo. So, stolen identity na naman ba ito? (The other ‘Shiela Guo’ has the same birthday with the Shiela Guo who was one of our resource persons during last Tuesday’s hearing. This reminds us of the case of Alice Guo. So, is this a case of another stolen identity?)” Hontiveros said.
Last June, another “Alice Guo” was also uncovered by the NBI from its database who had the same birthday and other personal details as the dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor, but with a different photo, raising the possibility of a stolen identity.
During the hearing last Tuesday, Shiela Guo claimed she was born in China and Alice is not her biological sibling, contrary to what the dismissed mayor had said in past Senate hearings.
Shiela also said that Guo Jian Zhong, also known as Angelito Guo, is not her biological father and that Wen Yi Lin, supposedly the Guos’ real mother, is her auntie.
Alice had claimed that Guo Jian Zhong is her biological father and her biological mother is Amelia Leal, their alleged former house helper. In past hearings, Alice said Shiela is her biological sister.
Shiela refused to identify her biological parents, invoking her right to self-incrimination since cases have been filed against her for violation of the Philippine Passport Act and immigration laws.
She said Guo Jian Zhong, whom she calls “daddy,” facilitated the late registration of her birth records so she could get a Philippine passport which she has been using since 2008.
The NBI said Shiela’s real name is Zhang Mier based on a fingerprint comparison. But Shiela refused to confirm this.
NBI assistant director Angelito Magno said Shiela Guo applied for an NBI clearance in 2021 while the other Shiela Guo applied in 2005.
The two claimed they lived at 83 Kalantiaw St., in Project 8, Quezon City but an NBI check showed both Shielas were non-existent in that address.
Sheila and Katherine Cassandra Li Ong, said to be a business associate of Alice Guo, were detained by Indonesian authorities and brought back to the country to face congressional investigation last Thursday.
Hontiveros, in a statement, said Shiela’s testimony last Tuesday should not be taken as gospel truth, adding Shiela, who is still detained at the Senate, should cooperate with authorities and tell what she knows of Alice.
Hontiveros said it appears Shiela is being used to cover for the alleged illegal activities of Alice, whose Chinese name is Guo Ha Ping.
Both Shiela and Alice have Chinese and Philippine passports.
“May mga inamin siya that checks out with the information we previously gathered. Pero may sinabi pa rin siyang kaduda-duda. She may still be hiding something and we still detected some lies (She admitted some things that checked out with the information we previously gathered. But she also said some things that are doubtful. She may still be hiding something and we still detected some lies),” Hontiveros said.
Hontiveros said that it is hard to believe that Shiela was not familiar with some of the places that she, Alice and Wesley used to make good their escape to Malaysia, adding Shiela could be either playing dumb, telling a lie, or really ignorant.
She said Shiela could not have known that it was illegal for her to possess a Philippine passport since she is a Chinese citizen. Dual citizenship is not allowed in China.
“Either way, ano pa man ang sabihin niya, kung hindi ito tugma sa ebidensiya, she will still be held liable (Either way, if what she says will run against the evidence, then she will still be held liable),” she added.
“I am calling on Shiela to fully cooperate with proper authorities and not to allow herself to be used. It is not too late for that,” she said.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian urged the Anti-Money Laundering Council to immediately file charges against Alice Guo and her cohorts.
“We’re getting impatient with the case because it’s obvious that there was money laundering involved in the establishment of a POGO hub in Bamban,” Gatchalian said.
AMLC Deputy Director Adrian Arpon said the agency is eyeing to file the first money laundering case in relation to the Bamban POGO “within the week.” He said investigations are still ongoing over the POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga.
CHARGES FILED
The National Prosecution Service yesterday filed charges before the Pasay City Regional Trial Court against Sheila Guo and Ong, the representative of the POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga raided by authorities.
Guo, who is detained at the House of Representatives, and Shiela Guo were charged with disobedience to summons issued by the Senate over the latter’s inquiry on the alleged illegal activities of the POGO hub in Bamban and Porac.
Shiela was also charged for using a false Philippine passport and Ong, a Filipino citizen, for obstruction of justice.
“Wherefore, it is hereby respectfully recommended that the resolution be approved and that the appropriate information be filed in Court for the following criminal charges: Against Respondent Zhang Mier aka Sheila Leal Guo for violation of Article 150 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) for Disobedience to Summons issued by the Senate and for violation of Section 22 of Republic Act No.11983 for using a false Philippine passport,” the NPS said in a resolution dated August 27.
“Against respondent Katherine Cassandra Li Ong for violation of Article 150 of the Revised Penal Code for Disobedience to Summons issued by the House of Representatives and for violation of Section 1 (c) of Presidential Decree 1829 for Obstruction of Justice for harboring, concealing, or facilitating the escape of a criminal offender,” it added.
The NPS recommended that the criminal raps against Guo and Ong for falsification under Article 172 of the RPC, and for violations of Republic Act No.8293 and Commonwealth Act No.613, be referred to the NBI and other appropriate law enforcement agencies for a “case build-up and further investigation.”
DOJ Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano said state prosecutors found “sufficient evidence” to recommend filing charges against the two.
“The prosecutors found suff icient evidence against them under our new rules that called for reasonable certainty. All elements of the crime must have supporting evidence,” Clavano said.
Earlier, the Bureau of Immigration said Guo would face deportation proceedings for undesirability and misrepresentation but she has to face the cases here first before being deported.
The House quad committee last night again cited in contempt Ong for refusing to answer the questions of lawmakers.
Ong, an authorized representative of Lucky South 99, the raided POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga, was earlier handed over to the House by the NBI following an arrest and detention order issued by the chamber after her first contempt citation for snubbing the joint panel’s invitations.
During the hearing yesterday, Ong explicitly refused to testify, invoking her right against self-incrimination.
This prompted Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante, one of the quad comm’s chairmen, to move to cite her in contempt for the second time.
The joint panel also approved the motion of Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano (PL, Abang Lungkod), who is also a panel co-chair, to move Ong’s detention to the Women’s Correctional Center in Mandaluyong City from the House’s detention facility.
LAWYER FACES PROBE
The Justice Department said it would initiate a probe on Atty. Elmer Galicia, the lawyer who notarized the counter-affidavit of Alice Guo in the qualified human trafficking case filed against her before the DOJ over the illegal operations of the POGO hub in Bamban.
DOJ Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano said there’s a possibility that Galicia may have mis-used his notarial authority after he notarized Guo’s counter-affidavit even if she did not personally swear before him as called for by notarial rules.
“The DOJ will ask him on this, especially in relation to his notarial authority that may have been misused or abused,” Clavano said, adding every lawyer knows notarial rules.
He said that going by the statements made by Galicia in the Senate inquiry last Tuesday, Galicia may have misled the DOJ by claiming Guo appeared before him and subscribed to her counter-affidavit.
Claviano said that based on the claims of Galicia, the DOJ was under the impression that Alice Guo appeared before him “and we accepted the counter-affidavit on that basis.”
In his testimony, Galicia initially told senators he was unaware that Alice Guo had a standing warrant of arrest issued by the Senate, saying he seldom watched or heard news on TV and radio, even if he was a tabloid publisher.
“I assumed that it was Mayor Guo. She even presented her driver’s license. She has a resemblance with Mayor Alice Guo because I have seen her while browsing the internet so my perception is she really was Alice Guo,” Galicia told the senators.
Galicia later admitted the Alice Guo he was referring to did not step out of her vehicle.
In a related development, DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty said Sheila Guo is qualified to become a government witness since she appears to be the least guilty.
But Ty clarified it is only a possibility and he does not want to get ahead of himself
“I don’t want to get ahead of others, but she is qualified. If you think about it, she is not the mastermind of the illegal activity. If we believe her, in what she said yesterday, it seems she was just dragged into this controversy or was brought into it by her companions,” Ty said. — With Wendell Vigilia
