Alice Guo (Mark Balmores/ MANILA BULLETIN)

New information on dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo's alleged identity as a Chinese spy surfaced when an Al Jazeera documentary about Chinese tycoon She Zhijiang came out.

But for Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is better suited to pursue this information.

In an interview on DWIZ on Saturday, Sept. 28, Escudero said that he couldn't tell whether or not She was telling the truth. He did say that, under the law, Guo must be given the chance to question the person who made the accusations thrown at her.

"Sa kasong ito na nasa Thailand yung nagbitiw ng akusasyon laban kay Alice Guo, hindi ko alam kung magagamit yan dahil sa kawalan ng pagkakataon ni Alice Guo na i-cross examine o kuwestiyonin yung nag-aakusa sa kanya (In the case wherein the one who accused Alice Guo is in Thailand, I'm not sure if the information can be used because Alice Guo lacked the opportunity to cross-examine or question her accuser)," Escudero said.

Excerpts of this documentary were played during the back-to-back interpellations of Davao Oriental 2nd district Rep. Cheeno Miguel Almario and Puwersa ng Bayanjng Atleta (PBA) Party-list Rep. Margarita "Migs" Nograles during the House quad-comm hearing Friday.

Guo--who senators call Guo Hua Ping, her supposed her real identity--was featured in the documentary in the form of an entry in She's dossier.

One of the excerpts shown to the special four-way panel was She's personal appeal to the ex-mayor and Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) personality.

"Guo Hua Ping. China cannot be trusted. The two of us once dedicated our lives to China's Ministry of State Security. Look at what happened to me. If you don't want to be eliminated, you should tell the world the truth," said She.

Escudero says requesting the presence of a witness overseas is no longer within the jurisdiction of the Senate.

"That is for our prosecutors sa DOJ to decide what steps to take and hopefully they will be in a better position as well to coordinate with Thai authorities, gamit ang (through the) Department of Foreign Affairs," he added.

Escudero also stated that even though the usually timid Guo was riled up by the Al Jazeera documentary, she remained stiff about divulging what she knows.

"Para sa akin, loss man ang composure o hindi, pangiti-ngiti man o hindi, sa dulo, hanggang ngayon ay nananatili pa rin siyang matigas at hindi bumibigay sa anumang uri ng katanungan kaugnay sa kanyang nalalaman dito sa buong isyu kaugnay ng POGO (For me, she may lose her composure or not, smile or not, but in the end, she still remained stubborn and refused to give in to any kind of questioning related to her knowledge here in the whole issue concerning POGO)," Escudero said.

Muntik man, hindi pa rin sa dulo bumigay itong si Alice Guo (While she almost gave in, Alice Guo was adamant until the end)," he added.

Alice Guo as congreswoman?

Meanwhile, former senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson said She's information showed that there's a possibility that Guo was sent by a foreign government to become a spy.

"What if sa susunod na election di na siya tumakbong mayor kundi tumakbo sa Congress? Madali sa kanya yan maging kongresista. Pag congresswoman siya, may access na siya sa mataas na level ng security classification kasi tataas ang kanyang security clearance (What if she runs for congress instead of mayor in the next election? It would be an easy win for her as a congresswoman. If she is congresswoman, she will have access to high-level security classifications, as her security clearance would be elevated)," he said.

"So delikado yan kung talagang espiya siya, medyo compromised na lahat yung ating national security (It's quite dangerous if she's indeed a spy, as it would mean that our national security has been somewhat compromised)," he added.

On the other hand, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III said that while the information should not be ignored, it should be taken with a grain of salt given that it came from someone who is behind bars.

"Ingat din tayo kasi sabi naman ng jurisprudence natin, yung word ng mga nakakulong dahan-dahan lang din tayo kasi maraming factors na nakakainfluence kapag nakakulong ka eh (We should be mindful because according to jurisprudence, the word of those incarcerated should be treated with caution as there are many factors that influence their statements when they are imprisoned)," he said.