Senators on Tuesday, September 10 said they do not believe that no Filipino or government official aided dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, her sister Shiela and brother Wesley, escape the Philippines.
Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said Guo, or Guo Hua Ping’s claim is so far-fetched, insisting whoever these people are should be held accountable.
“I do not believe Alice’s assertion that no other Filipino helped her for I am of the belief that there were other personalities, possibly officials in government other than the BI (Bureau of Immigration), who helped her,” Escudero said in a statement.
“However, non-Filipino actors who helped her escape should also be held to account including the ones she mentioned,” he stressed.
That they are allegedly “not here” should not stop Philippine authorities from trying to get them, especially Alice’s financiers and bosses, Escudero insisted.
“I tend to believe that there are credible threats to her life but it would depend on the extent of her revelations and if she will tell the whole truth,” the Senate leader said.
During the continuation of the Senate hearing on illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), Guo said an Asian woman accompanied them during their travel.
According to the former mayor, the person who facilitated their escape was not with them when they were leaving the Philippines.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, said she wouldn’t buy any of Guo’s claims.
“Hindi (ako naniniwala). Kasi imposibleng ‘yung solong babaeng dayuhan daw na tumulong sa kanila ay ‘yun lang ang nag-disenyo at nag-gawa ng pagtakas nila (I don't believe that. Because it’s impossible that a single foreign woman was the sole person who designed and planned their escape),” Hontiveros said in an interview on GMA-7’s Unang Balita.
In a separate statement, Hontiveros also said she is thumbing down Alice Guo's camp's appeal for a Senate executive session.
"Our committee has not seen any reason to believe that Guo Hua Ping will provide us with factual, valuable and reliable information to convince us to agree to an executive session," she stated.
"Ni hindi nga pa rin niya maamin na Chinese national siya at pinanganak siya sa China kahit harap-harapan nang pinakita ang mga ebidensya sa kanya. Nakakainsulto na pinipilit pa rin niyang Pilipino siya (She still won't even admit that she is a Chinese national and that she was born in China even when the evidence was shown to her face to face. It is insulting that she still insists that she is Filipino," she reiterated.
If she cannot even tell the truth about her identity, Hontiveros said there is no need for senators to believe "everything else that comes out of her mouth."
"Magpakatotoo siya sa susunod na pagdinig, at baka sakali maniwala kaming magpapakatotoo din siya sa isang (She should be candid in the next hearing and maybe we can believe that she would be transparent in an) executive session," she said.
Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla had earlier said President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has agreed to relieve Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco from his post.
Remulla, in an interview, said he was no longer communicating with Tansingo after the Immigration chief did not immediately inform the DOJ about Guo’s departure from the country on August 15.
According to Tansingco, they still had to validate the information. He admitted he only reported the incident to Remulla and the Office of the Executive Secretary five days later, or on August 20.
Senate custody
Meanwhile, Escudero commended Sen. Francis Tolentino for pushing that the Senate should be the primary institution that should have custody of Guo.
Tolentino, during the hearing, noted that the only warrant of arrest that is valid is the one coming from the Senate and not the one issued by the Capas, Tarlac Regional Trial Court Branch 109 which was issued in the afternoon of September 5 or hours before her arrival in Manila, from Indonesia.
Guo’s custody would have been transferred to the Senate had she posted bail with the graft case in the Tarlac RTC, but the former mayor declined to do so saying she felt safe with the police despite claiming she is facing death threats.
“Sen. Tolentino raised a very good legal issue but it’s for the Court to decide, given the pendency of the case, thereat, and for Alice’s lawyers to raise as part of her defense,” Escudero said.
“Actually, what’s interesting is… why haven’t her lawyers raised this and why hasn’t she posted bail?!” he noted.
“It’s as if Alice wanted, or is at least in agreement, for this case to be filed against her,” Escudero pointed out.