Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo on Wednesday, May 22 denied she has a live-in partner who is managing the operations of illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in her town, insisting she has no links with anyone in the industry.
Guo pointed this out after Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada inquired about the veracity of an information he obtained from a “very reliable source” that Guo’s live-in partner also happens to be a public official at the continuation of the Senate committee on women and children’s inquiry into the raided POGOs in Tarlac.
According to Estrada, Guo is being linked to a mayor in Pangasinan. The mayor, however, denied the allegations, when Estrada inquired whether she has a spouse, boyfriend or live-in partner. Estrada did not name the politician.
Guo denied she does and tried to laugh off the questions until the Sen. Risa Hontiveros, chairperson of the panel, insisted it was no laughing matter.
“Your honor, wala pong katotohanan po yun. Kahit po ilabas nyo po sila, magharap kami, hindi po yun totoo, (There’s no truth about that. Even if you make them appear here, and face me, that is not true),” Guo told Senate probers during the hearing.
The mayor, nevertheless, intimated she has an idea who Estrada was referring to, but insisted that the information is not true.
“Alam ko na po yung nili-link niyo sa akin …pero wala pong katotohanan yun, hindi po totoo,” she said.
Hontiveros, who is leading the panel’s investigation, earlier flagged the town mayor’s alleged links to criminals, especially after learning that her previous co-incorporators in Baofu Compound were money launderers.
But during the hearing, Guo she was initially unaware of the criminal records of her foreign business partners, saying she only learned about it through social media.
“Your honor, nalaman ko po kahapon doon sa Facebook post niyo po. After ko malaman, sinearch ko sila (I learned about it yesterday based on your Facebook post. After I learned about it, I searched about them),” she said.
According to Hontiveros, Baofu's incorporators included Guo, Rachel Joan Malonzo Carreon, a Filipino; Zhiyang Huang, a Cypriot; Zhang Ruijin, a Chinese; and Baoying Lin, a Dominican.
According to the senator, Zhang is being linked to the “largest money laundering case in Singapore” and that Baoying Lin is also facing criminal charges.
Also during the hearing, Guo, who was again grilled about the discrepancies of the documents about her identity, including the different dates of her parents’ supposed marriage, agreed to undergo a lie detector test.
This after Sen. Raffy Tulfo alleged that Guo was trying to get public sympathy by claiming that she is a love child of her father with a Filipino housekeeper.
Tulfo pointed out that records show that her parents tied the knot on Oct. 14, 1982 and Jan. 21, 1987, which contradicting her claims that she is a love child.
Guo repeatedly claimed that she never discussed this issue with her Chinese father who supposedly took care of her after she was abandoned by her mother.
But Tulfo said he is not buying Guo’s excuse and reasons, saying it is only natural to inquire about a public official’s family history.
“We’re trying to find out the truth. Nililihis mo ang usapan. Kumukuha ka ng simpatya sa publiko (You’re trying to get public sympathy) but presenting a seemingly sad teleserye story. We know better,” Tulfo told Guo during the hearing.