NBI Director to Alice Guo: 'Turn yourself in; face Senate hearings'
Director Jaime B. Santiago of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) urged suspended Mayor Alice L. Guo to turn herself in and attend sessions at the Senate.
Guo has been cited in contempt and ordered arrested by the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality for failing to attend the committee sessions.
The Senate committee has been conducting hearings in the alleged illegal activities of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs). In the course of the hearings, Guo's nationality has been questioned.
Santiago assured Guo: "Hindi siya madedehado 'pag sa aking s'ya sumuko (She will not be placed in an disadvantageous position if she surrenders to me)."
“Sumuko s’ya sa Senate, umattend s’ya ng hearing (She should surrender to the Senate and attend the hearings),” he said.
Santiago reminded that no court has issued any warrant of arrest against Guo. "What we have is a Senate warrant because of her non-attendance," he added.
Guo has been suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman on criminal and administrative charges filed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
She and several other respondents have been named in a non-bailable qualified trafficking in persons complaint filed before the Department of Justice.
Guo has not attended at least two hearings on the preliminary investigation being conducted by the DOJ's panel of prosecutors.