Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros on Thursday, September 5 debunked claims made by Shiela Guo, sister of dismissed Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, that she entered Malaysia through Sabah, saying the stamp on her passport was fake.
Hontiveros said Shiela’s stamp on her passport indicating they supposedly arrived in Sabah, was actually fake.
This means, the senator said Shiela had no legal entry in Sabah, Malaysia, citing her sources in Sabah, Malaysia.
“They compared their actual stamp in Sabah and they confirmed it was fake,” the senator said at the continuation of the the Senate subcommittee on justice and human rights hearing.
“It didn’t match the stamp that is used to stamp those that enter Sabah,” she pointed out.
But Hontiveros said the committee got credible information that she entered Malaysia but via Kuala Lumpur in July 18 or 19.
Based on the stamps, the senator said it shows she entered Kuala Lumpur prior to going to Sabah.
“You only entered Sabah on July 19, based on that stamp. Therefore, you first arrived in Kuala Lumpur than in Sabah,” she said.
“What the committee can confirm as credible information is the fact that you arrived in Kuala Lumpur in July 18,” Hontiveros said, pointing out this contradicts Shiela’s testimony during the panel’s hearing last August 27 where she said she, along her siblings, Alice and Wesley Guo, left the Philippines by sea on July 18.
Based on her testimony, Shiela said they boarded at least three different vessels but said could not recall the exact date, where and what port they left from.
According to Shiela, they arrived in Semporna, which is located in Sabah, Malaysia.
Asked if she remembers if her passport was stamped in Semporna, Shiela said it wasn’t and their entry to Sabah, Malaysia was smooth.
Also during the hearing, Shiela insisted that she and her supposed siblings took three different vessels boats to reach Malaysia, first boarding a small white boat, then transferring to a big fishing boat and another medium-sized boat before going to Sabah, where she said they spent four to five days.
From Malaysia, they flew to Singapore where they supposedly met with their parents and stayed there for several days. They later traveled to Batam, Indonesia boarding a ferry.
Shiela and Alice’s business partner, Cassandra Li Ong, were eventually arrested by Indonesian authorities in Batam, Indonesia. A few days later, on September 4, Alice was arrested in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Family-owned farm
Also during the hearing, Hontiveros showed a certificate from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) showing that Shiela Guo is the registered owner of Alisel Aqua Farm in Sual, Pangasinan. Shiela, however, denied knowing about it.
Shiela admitted that they have a farm in Pangasinan but she did not know where it was located. She said she believes her name was used for business without her knowledge.
Also during the hearing, Shiela confirmed having met Sual, Pangasinan Mayor Liseldo “Dong” Calugay but denied she knows of the relationship between Calugay and her sister Alice.
Calugay is being linked to Alice Guo as the mayor who is allegedly protecting her and handling the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in her town Bamban, Tarlac.
The Sual, Pangasinan mayor was not able to attend the hearing due to dengue fever. The camp of Calugay submitted a copy of a medical certificate issued by the Sual Primary Care Facility-Infirmary on September 4.
As far as she is concerned, Shiela said she knew Calugay and Alice are friends but is not sure whether they are business partners.
Shiela told the committee that she met Calugay when she went with Alice at a Filipino restaurant. The meeting took place before the Covid-19 pandemic.
But with her admission, Sen. Joel Villanueva confronted her with her earlier statement denying she knows any individual involved in politics.
Villanueva said he finds it impossible for Shiela to remember the Filipino restaurant they went to before the Covid-19 pandemic, but not anything about the property in Pangasinan that she had called “their farm.”
“Binanggit mo doon sa Pangasinan, farm namin. Exact words mo, farm namin. Nung pinakita sayo ni Madam Chair, sabi mo di mo alam. Bakit? Kasi yun ang most convenient na pwede mong sabihin. Wala akong alam (You mentioned that in Pangasinan, you have our farm. That’s your exact words, our farm. When she showed you proof, you said you don’t know. Why? Because it’s the most convenient thing you can say),” Villanueva pointed out.
“Pero in 2019, natatandaan niya ‘yung Filipino food na kinain nila bago magkaroon ng pandemya. Natatandaan niya lahat. Eh, Shiela, may amnesia ka ba (But in 2019, you remember the Filipino food you ate before the pandemic. She can remember that. So Shiela do you have amnesia)?” he stressed.