House Assistant Minority Leader 1-Rider Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez told dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo during the quad-committee (quad-comm) hearing Friday, Sept. 27 that they were actually batch-mates at Grace Christian College.
Solon says Alice Guo was grade school batchmate of his sources who described her as 'friendly, makulit'
At a glance
1-Rider Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez (left), Alice Guo (Speaker’s office, Alice Guo)
House Assistant Minority Leader 1-Rider Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez told dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo during the quad-committee (quad-comm) hearing Friday, Sept. 27 that he has received information from two sources that they were batchmates in grade school at the Grace Christian High School (GCHS) in Quezon City.
This, as the controversial Guo maintained her refusal to answer whether or not the pupil in the now viral class photo taken during the early 2000s was her.
"I invoke my right po [against self-incrimination on the class picture]," Guo, also known as Guo Hua Ping, told her interpellatpr, Gutierrez.
"Pwede mo namang sabihin na hindi ikaw ‘yon ‘di ba? (You can say that the pupil isn't you, right?)" Gutierrez asked.
"Your Honor I hope you understand, sa sobrang dami na pong kaso na nasampahan po ngayon sa court kaya anything na isasagot ko po dito sa inyo might be used against me po," she said.
(With all the cases filed in court against me right now, anything that I will answer to you might be used against me.)
"Kung talagang hindi ikaw ‘yan (If it's not really you), I think you would have said that’s not you.
"But instead you invoked your right to self-incrimination, and why do I not believe that? I can identify two of the people behind you. Magka-batch po kayo (you were batchmates) Ms. Guo," the party-list solon said, referring to the class photo.
Gutierrez went on to share the special four-way panel his recollections of Guo from school.
"I know what year this was taken, and they have a description of you—nung pumasok ka po sa Grace, napaka-thick po ng accent ninyo (when you entered Grace, your accent was very thick)," he said.
"Mandarin lang ang kaya niyong salitain (You could only speak Mandarin), but you were very friendly and you very makulit (active), and that’s why they had a hard time to forget you even though hanggang Grade 3 ka lang daw po dun (You only stayed there up to Grade 3)," added Gutierrez, a lawyer.
"Now, I know like I said that’s hearsay as far as the committee’s concerned kasi hindi naman nandito yung may personal knowledge nun (because the person who has the personal knowledge isn't here), but when I was talking to that person with personal knowledge, na-convince naman ako (I was convinced) and they’ve identified you," he said.
With this, Gutierrez also expressed doubts over Guo's claim that she's 38 years old. He suspects that she could be younger.
"In fact if you are 38, and this picture was 2001, you would have been 13, 14 po ba (right)?" he asked the alleged Chinese spy and Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) personality.
"Eh kasing age mo naman ‘yong mga—these people were born 91, 92? (You appear to be the same age as these people born in 91, 92?)...Eh I don’t think you’re that much older than them and that’s why I don’t buy that story that you were born in 1986," said the "Young Guns" bloc member.