Lawyer advises Guo to surrender

MANILA, Philippines — Saying she cannot hide forever, a lawyer for suspended Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac has advised her to surrender to the Senate, which failed to serve a warrant for her arrest.

In a radio interview, Guo’s legal counsel Stephen David maintained that the suspended mayor is still in the country.

“We were able to talk via Zoom, but personally, I believe she is still in the Philippines. First, the lookout (bulletin) of the (Bureau of) Immigration is very strict,” David said.

The Senate Sergeant-at-Arms failed to serve the warrant of arrest against Guo after she was not found at the addresses indicated, including her residences in Tarlac, Bulacan and Valenzuela.

“We were able to talk for more than one hour. Of course, my advice to her (is to surrender) as she cannot hide forever,” David said.

He added the warrant of arrest was only issued by the Senate to compel her to testify as a resource person.

“The Senate warrant of arrest is not meant to penalize her. She was subpoenaed to testify as a resource person because they (senators) want to ask her questions only she can answer. If she will be able to answer, eventually, the arrest order will be lifted,” David added.

As a lawyer, David said he is an advocate of the rule of law. “You have a warrant of arrest, you should surrender. It is not good that you will become precedent as a fugitive, especially if you are a government official,” he said, recalling his advice to Guo.

But he maintained that it is still up to Guo to decide whether to finally surrender.

“She told me that she will reconsider her options. I told her I can ask the Senate to provide her a better space as a public official, she deserves respect,” he said.

According to David, Guo is assured of protection in the “sacred hall” of the Senate.

“What I can do is to explain to her the consequences,” David said.

Also ordered arrested by the Senate were Siemen Guo, Wesley Guo, Sheila Guo, the mayor’s alleged mother Wen Yi Lin and Dennis Cunanan, who had appeared before the Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality, chaired by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, which is investigating alleged illegal activities in Philippine offshore gaming operator hubs in Bamban, Tarlac and in Porac, Pampanga.

Guo’s account officer Nancy Gamo was arrested last Saturday and is now in the custody of the Office of Senate Sergeant-at-Arms.

Surrender

At a virtual press briefing yesterday, Hontiveros called on the suspended Bamban mayor to surrender, saying she should face the Senate instead of ranting on social media.

“To Mayor Alice Guo: if you can go online on Facebook, perhaps you can also face the Senate,” Hontiveros said, referring to Guo’s lengthy Facebook post last Friday where she claimed to have been hurt by allegations against her and that she “almost lost” herself as a result.

Guo also said she has no regrets entering politics. Her emoji-filled post has since been deleted.

“You used Facebook to peddle your fake news that you are Filipino. You are not Filipino. We have strong evidence saying otherwise,” Hontiveros said.

The senator meanwhile urged accountant Gamo to divulge everything on Guo’s alleged involvement in illegal POGO activities.

“I strongly advise her to tell all she knows and answer our questions truthfully. She may hold the key to the main perpetrator – Guo Hua Ping herself,” Hontiveros said.

While Guo’s whereabouts remain a puzzle, Bureau of Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval said the 38-year-old suspended mayor “has no recent recorded travel.” She did not elaborate. The BI is not allowed to disclose details on Guo’s travel history in line with Republic Act 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012.

Even if there is no record of Guo leaving the country, the BI said there is no guarantee that she indeed has not left the country, considering that the Philippines has porous borders or she may have left without passing through regular ports.

Meanwhile, the House committees on public order and safety and on games and amusement are set to start tomorrow their own investigation on illegal activities at POGO hubs, as per instructions from Speaker Martin Romualdez.

“We need to know why they are conducting such criminal activities inside POGOs,” Rep. Dan Fernandez of Sta. Rosa City in Laguna, chairman of the House committee on public order and safety, told reporters.

“Comprehensively, we will be trying to find out what are the criminal elements involved and who are involved therein,” Fernandez said, adding their investigation would not focus on Guo.

“We don’t want to focus only on Alice Guo because there are just too many details. We want to have details about the criminal activities that were conducted inside POGOs,” he said.

Among those invited to tomorrow’s hearing were officials from the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corp., National Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, Philippine National Police and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force. — Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Alexis Romero, Delon Porcalla, Evelyn Macairan