Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday, June 2 said subjecting Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Leal Guo and Lin Wen Yi, who is suspected to be her biological mother, to a DNA test may no longer be possible as Lin is now no longer in the Philippines.
Gatchalian said he believes a DNA test between Lin and Guo could have helped establish the real relationship between them despite the mayor’s insistence that her mother is a Filipino.
Guo had earlier claimed of being a love child of her father Angelito Guo or Guo Jang Jong and Amelia Leal Guo, a Filipino helper.
“Sa ngayon dahil nagtanong kami sa Bureau of Immigration (BI), si Lin Wen Yi at si Guo Jang Jong wala na pala sa Pilipinas, bumiyahe na sila sa ibang bansa so hindi na natin sila makikita dito (For now, we asked the BI, and found out that Lin Wen Yi and Guo Jang Jong is no longer in the Philippines; they flew to another country, so we can’t find them here),” Gatchalian said in a Radio DZBB interview.
If the DNA test proves that Lin is Guo’s mother, then inevitably, the mayor is Chinese, as both her real parents are Chinese.
“Unang-una itong dalawa ay Chinese citizen so pwede talaga silang bumalik sa China at wag nang bumalik dito at kapag yan ay nangyari wala na tayong pagkakataon na patunayan na itong dalawa ay kanyang mga magulang (In the first place, both of them are Chinese citizens so they can just return to China and not come here anymore. And if that happens, then we have no opportunity to prove that both of them are her parents),” he pointed out.
“Kaya sa kasamaang palad, dahil nga madali lang lumipad at madalas silang lumipad at nakita namin yung flight records talagang halos isang beses isang buwan umaalis sila kaya talagang hindi malayo yun. Pero sa ngayon wala na si Lin Wen Yi sa bansa kaya mahirap tayong mapa-DNA sila (Unfortunately, because they can travel and go places easily, we’ve seen the flight records, they usually leave the country once a month, so it’s really impossible. But for now, Lin Wen Yi is no longer in the country so it’s difficult to demand a DNA test),” he said.
According to Gatchalian, Lin is clearly a trusted person by the Guo family and close to Guo Jang Jong, the mayor’s father as most of their documents show that she is also an incorporator in the family’s businesses. Lin also travels frequently with the father, aside the Guo siblings, mostly to China.
“So makikita mo na itong si Lin Wen Yi trusted na tao ito, hindi ito ordinaryong tao. Talagang malapit sa kanila. Kaya sa mga pagtatanong ko ipinakilala ina nya itong si Wen Yi (So you can see that Lin Wen Yi is a trusted person, not an ordinary person. Really close to them. And based on my investigation, Mayor Guo introduced this Wen Yi as her mother),” he pointed out.
At the same time, Gatchalian also floated the possibility that Mayor Guo’s campaign during the last elections was bankrolled by money from illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) or POGOs.
“Malaking posibilidad yan. Kumbaga yan pa ang posibilidad na POGO money ang tumakbo para magkaroon ng POGO politics. Malaking posibilidad yan (That’s a huge possibility. There’s the possibility that POGO money was utilized to ensure POGO politics. That’s a huge possibility),” Gatchalian said in an interview on Radio DZBB.
The mayor had repeatedly denied her links to the POGO companies raided by authorites early this year. Guo had also insisted she is not a Chinese spy, and that she is a Filipino.
But Gatchalian said he believes the theory that owners of these POGO hubs have already established connections with some people in government.
“Ibig sabihin marunong silang mag-alaga at maglagay sa mga tao sa taas sa enforcement agencies natin para maproteksyunan sila (Which means they know how to provide and put people in law enforcement agencies so they can enjoy protection),” he pointed out.
“Marurunong sila. Kumbaga ung narcopolitics marunong silang maglagay ng mga enforcers, ito marunong din ito. Lalo na kung ganun kalaking investment ang dinadala nila (They are shrewd. Like in narco-politics, they know how to put enforcers who are also knowledgeable. Especially if they bring in huge investments),” the senator said.