Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday, May 21 disclosed that Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo has ties with criminals and are even fellow incorporators of her company, Baofu Land Development, Inc.
In Baofu’s 2019 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) documents, Hontiveros pointed out the incorporators included Mayor Guo, Filipino national Rachel Joan Malonzo Carreon, Cypriot national Zhiyang Huang, Chinese national Zhang Ruijin, and Dominican national Baoying Lin.
According to Hontiveros, Zhang was convicted last month for being linked to the reported “largest money laundering case in Singapore," while the Dominican national, Baoying Lin, also faces charges.
A report by Channel News Asia, the senator said, pointed to Ruijin as having “$41 million in assets overseas, including shareholdings in a Philippine real estate development company.”
“Ang daming red flag ni Mayor Alice Guo. Wala na ngang maayos na record sa Pilipinas, may mga koneksyon pa sa mga kriminal (Mayor Alice Guo has so many red flags. She doesn’t even have any proper record in the Philippines, yet she has connections to criminals),” Hontiveros pointed out.
“Is this why she is able to afford her lavish lifestyle? Galing ba sa mga kriminal at pugante ang pambili niya ng chopper at mga luxury cars (Did the money she used to purchase a helicopter and luxury cars came from criminals and fugitives)?” she further pointed out.
Citing Guo’s testimony, the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, which is leading the investigation into the operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country, recalled that the mayor said that her friends helped her win during the May 2022 campaign.
“Itong mga kriminal at puganteng kaibigan ba ang sinasabi niya (Was she referring to these criminals and fugitives)?” the lawmaker asked.
“Kahit pa sabihin niyang nag-divest na siya sa Baofu bago tumakbo (even if she claims she divested her shares in Baofu before she ran), the fact remains: she has ties with these criminals,” she pointed out.
“Kaya ba siya tumakbong Mayor para maprotektahan niya ang mga kaibigan niya (Did she run for mayor to protect her friends)? I am looking forward to our hearing on Wednesday. Sana naman may maalala na si Mayor (I hope the mayor remembers something this time),” Hontiveros said.
Given her connections to criminals, Hontiveros said she welcomes the Department of Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) move to remove Guo’s power over the local police.
“Dapat wala nang access si Mayor sa ating kapulisan kung siya pala ay protektor din ng mga kriminal (the mayor should no longer have any access to our policemen if she herself is a protector of criminals),” the senator added.