Alice Guo

Co-chairmen of the House quad-committee (quad-comm) can't wait to get their hands on dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo following reports of her arrest by Indonesian authorities on Wednesday, Sept. 4. 

Both Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers and Santa Rosa City lone district Dan Fernandez believe that Guo has a lot to contribute to their ongoing inquiry into the interconnected issues of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), illegal drugs, money laundering, and extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during the previous Duterte administration. 

That is, if Guo decides to talk. 

"Yes [we will summon her]. Kailangan namin ng information galing sa kanya. Siguro sa susunod na schedule pagkatapos niya sa Senado ay ipapatawag din namin siya," Barbers, overall chairman of the special four-way panel, told reporters ahead of the quad-comm's hearing Wednesday. 

(We need information coming from her. Maybe in the next scheduled hearing after the Semate, we will also summon her.) 

Commenting on the ex-mayor's arrest, Barbers said: "Well all I can say is you can run, but you cannot hide." 

Co-chairman Fernandez also understood the value of Guo's testimony. "She’s a major player in the operation of Bamban [POGOs]." 

"If she’s not going to reveal who is behind all these operations, then nothing change in the game," he said. 

"We will continue to pursue all other [pieces of] evidences but if she’s going to remain silent because cases had been filed against her, it is within her rights but I think being a mayor and a major player in the operation of Bamban POGO,  it is highly improbable that she doesnt know what was happening in her area of jurisdiction," added the Laguna lawmaker.

Barbers has a lot of specific questions for Guo. "Gusto naming malaman sa kanya, papano siya naging Pilipino, sino ang tumulong sa kanya, sinong nasa likod ng kanyang pagiging Pilipino, pagiging negosyante rito." 

(We want to find out from her, how did she become a Filipino, who helped her with this, who is behind her Filipino citizenship, and her businesses here.) 

"Alam natin na siya ay hindi Pilipino. Paano siya nagkaroon ng negosyo? Alam natin na hindi siya Pilipino. Paano siya nakatakbo sa pwesto?" he further asked. 

(We know that she's not Filipino. How was she able to put up a business? We know that she's not Filipino. How was she able to run for office?) 

"Dapat may managot sa ganyang klaseng skema na nangyari sa kanya (Someone must be held accountable for the scheme that she used)," Barbers said.