MANILA, Philippines — Two senators said it is possible that Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo's parents were both Chinese after all based on the investigation of one senator's team who found that Valenzuela City residents allegedly knew Guo's mother to be a certain Chinese national named "Lin Wen Yi."
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said in a Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum on Wednesday that contrary to the Bamban mayor's testimony that her mother was a Filipino housekeeper, a certain "Lin Wen Yi" was introduced as Guo's mother to the people of Valenzuela City, where the Guo family used to have a business.
"Wen Yi was introduced as [Guo's] mother to the locals there, where she rented a warehouse. Based on my personal assessment, this might be Alice Guo's biological mother. Based on my investigation," Gatchalian said in Filipino.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Thursday bared documents showing that a certain "Lin Wen Yi" lived in the same address as the Bamban mayor.
Hontiveros cited documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission that showed Guo's co-incorporations in at least seven of her busiensses were the following: her siblings Shiela L. Guo and Siemen L. Guo, her father Jian Zhong Guo, and Lin Wen Yi.
The senator said that the identity of Guo's mother is "crucial" to the issue as it would prove that Guo had been lying under oath during Senate hearings.
Hontiveros chairs the the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, which has been leading an inquiry into the Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub raided in Tarlac due to complaints of human trafficking.
Guo was accused of having links to the POGO hub and has invited the ire of senators for her apparent inconsistent answers about her true identity. Among others, the Senate hearing has found irregularities in her birth certificate and the nationality listed for her father, who was labeled a Filipino despite being a Chinese national.
"If it turns out that her mother is Chinese and her father is also Chinese, it will prove that Mayor Alice is not Filipino. If this is true, the bigger question is: why did she need to pretend? Why the secrecy and lies?" Hontiveros said in Filipino.
Hontiveros said that Guo has been "lying through her teeth" by fabricating information about her siblings, and possibly, her mother.
The senator also referenced travel records that show Jian Zhong Guo and Lin Wen Yi traveled together at least 170 times over six years, prompting her to question their true relationship.
"Are they all related? Is this one big, dubious family business? As Sen. Win also noted, travel records show that Jian Zhong Guo and Lin Wen Yi traveled together at least 170 times in six years. Are they just business partners or are they actually married?" Hontiveros said.
The senator also sent the media a Bureau of Internal Revenue document detailing the birthdates and addresses of Bamban Mayor Guo’s co-incorporators, purportedly her family members.
The document indicated that Lin Wen Yi was born in 1971, which would mean she was only 15 years old when Alice was born and 13 years old when she had another daughter, Sheila L. Guo, who Alice has acknowledged as her sister.
Hontiveros also bared an additional source suggesting that Mayor Guo’s mother is known as "Winnie," possibly a Filipinized version of Lin Wen Yi.
"Why the secrecy? Who is this family? Why are they surrounded by mystery? We will get to the bottom of this," the senator said.
The Senate panel will hold an executive session during the sine die adjourment to look into the more sensitive details concerning Guo and the POGO hub in Bamban.