Even President Marcos is puzzled about Bamban Mayor Alice Guo's identity, saying it needs to be looked into further.
In an interview in Cagayan de Oro on Thursday, May 16, Marcos revealed that he has been wondering about Guo's identity amid her being under scrutiny at the Senate over her alleged ties in the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) operation in Tarlac.
"Kilala ko lahat ng mga tiga-Tarlac na politiko, walang may kilala sa kanya. Kaya nagtataka kami kung saan nanggaling ito? Bakit ganito ito? Hindi namin malaman (I know all the politicians in Tarlac, no one knows her. So, we were wondering where this came from. Why is this like this? We cannot determine)," Marcos said.
This issue on the mayor's citizenship and her alleged involvement in the operations of POGO must be investigated further.
"Kaya kailangan talagang imbestigahan. So, kasabay ng sa Bureau of Immigration, pati --- siguro may magku-kwestyon na ng kanyang citizenship. Yun lahat i-imbestigahan natin yun kasama ang imbestigasyon, mga hearing na ginagawa ng Senado (So, this really needs to be investigated. Along with the Bureau of Immigration—because perhaps her citizenship would be questioned. All of that will be investigated, including the investigation, hearing being conducted by the Senate)," Marcos said.
The President also said that the government has been looking into the POGO operations in Bamban, resulting in the raid that exposed its presence in the province.
All issues arising from the POGO raid, he added, would be included in the investigation, including the allegations on Guo.
"Well, matagal na naming inimbestigahan ‘yan, kaya naman nahuli ‘yan, e. Dahil ni-raid natin yung sa Bamban at nakita natin, 'yan, yung nakita yung dokumento, na kinukwestyon ngayon natin ‘yan, kung talagang totoo ‘tong mga to, at saka pano siya tumakbo ng mayor (Well, we have been looking into that, that is why it was raided. Because the one in Bamban was raided, and we saw the documents, which we are now questioning, if this is true, and how did she run as a mayor)," Marcos said.
Asked if questionable citizenship, like the one thrown at the Bamban mayor, can be considered as a security risk for the country, Marcos said they still cannot determine it but "there is a possibility."
"Palagay ko. Palagay ko. Hindi natin malaman kaya kailangan talaga nating pag-aralan nang mabuti. Pero may possibility na ganyan (I think. I think. We cannot determine that yet, so we need to look into this thoroughly. But there is a possibility)," he said.