Alice Guo and a plate of "hopia" (MANILA BULLETIN, Wikipedia)

Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo pounced on the opportunity to assert her supposed Filipino citizenship when "hopia" was randomly brought up Thursday, Sept. 19, during the House quad-committee (quad-comm) hearing. 

Thursday was the first time that the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) personality attended a hearing of the special four-way panel. 

Snacks were being handed out by committee staff to congressmen and resources persons Thursday afternoon when co-chairman Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr.'s turn to interpelllate or ask questions came. 

"Alice, hello. Kumakain ako ng hopia, oh. Alice, kumakain ka ba ng hopia? (I'm eating hopia right now. Alice, do uou eat hopia?)" Abante casually asked Guo. 

Guo shook her head, which led to a startled reply from Abante. 

"Hindi? Chinese ka, hindi ka kumakain ng hopia? (You don't? You're Chinese and you don't eat hopia?)" the incredulous Manila lawmaker said. 

"Filipino po ako (I'm a Filipino)," Guo, 38, said in a well-modulted voice. 

"Hindi po ako kumakain po ng hopia (I just don't eat hopia), thank you po," she added. 

Hopia is a flaky pastry snack that can have either a sweet or savory filling. Similar to moon cake, it is a popular item in Chinese speciality shops. 

Guo is believed to have deep links to POGO, which is a Chinese-dominate industry particularly during the previous Duterte administration. 

Ciiting the various syndicated crimes that have used POGO as a cover, President Marcos recently called for the stoppage of all such operations in the country.

Also during Abante's grilling of Guo, the latter shared to the joint panel that her father was Chinese while her mother was a Filipino, 

"Actually lumaki po ako, wala po akong kasanang nanay. Yung tatay ko po ang kasama ko pong lumaki po," the former mayor said. 

(Actually I grew up without a mother. I grew up with my father.) 

When asked if her mother was a natural-born Filipino, Guo said she didn't know.

READ THIS:

https://mb.com.ph/2024/9/18/alice-guo-to-face-house-quad-comm-for-the-first-time

'Hindi ka taga-rito' 

For a lot of the questions thrown at her by the congressmen, Guo answered: I" invoke my right against self-incrimination." 

Quad-comm vice chairman, Antipolo City 2nd district Rep. Romeo Acop was visibly annoyed as there appeared to be neither rhyme nor reason behind Guo's invoking of this right. 

"Kasi nagtataka lang ako, iniinvoke mo palagi yung right against self-incrimination eh. Pero wala namang kuneksyon doon sa mga kasong finile sayo," Acop told the ex-mayor? 

(I've been wondering why you always invoke the right against self-incrimination. But [the questions] have no connection to the cases filed against you.) 

"Halimabawa, tinanong ko lang nagpunta ka ba sa Malaysia, sabi mo 'Oo.' Pero ngayon tinatanong ko, bakit hindi mo ininvoke, ini-invoke mo ngayon yung right against self-incrimination mo. Niloloko mo na kami," he said. 

(For example, I asked if you've traveled to Malaysia, you answered, "Yes." But when I asked why you didn't invoke it, you said now that you will invoke your right against self-incrimination. You're just fooling us.) 

"Tama yung sinabi ng aking mga kasamahan (What my colleagues are saying is correct)--you are making a mockery of the citizens of this country. Kasi hindi ka taga--rito (because you are not from here)," Acop said.

Guo linked to 'Fujian gang?' 

The possibility that Guo had links to the notorious "Fujian gang" was also raised at the quad-comm hearing.

Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro pointed to several suspicious links between Guo and individuals from Fujian, the region in mainland, China that's associated with the crime syndicate similar to the triads. 

One key piece of evidence was a congratulatory poster from Manila-based Chinese businessmen celebrating Guo’s election as the “first Chinese mayor in the Philippines” in 2022. 

“This (congratulatory poster) came from businessmen here in Manila who originated from Fujian, China,” Luistro revealed. 

Fanning these concerns were the Bureau of Immigration records, which identified Guo as a dependent of her mother, Lin Wen Yi, also from Fujian. 

Luistro also noted that two of Guo’s business partners and fellow incorporators of Bamban-based Baofu Land Development Inc.—Lin Baoying and Rujin Zhang—were also from Fujian. Both were convicted of violating the anti-money laundering law in Singapore. 

“I wonder, Mr. Chair, if these are merely coincidences?” the congresswoman asked. 

Guo denied any knowledge of the Fujian gang. “Your honor, I’m not aware. First time ko po siya narinig ngayon araw (Today is the first time that I've head of it). Thank you po,” Guo responded.