Senate commits 3 panels to probe Guo’s escape
MANILA, Philippine — The Senate will dedicate three committees to investigate the alleged escape of dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III, who was elected as the chair of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, initially made the motion to have a subcommittee dedicated to probe Guo’s escape out of the country, which will be headed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros.
“I would like a subcommittee to hear this particular subject matter and as the Chairperson I have designated this to no other than the deputy minority leader herself, Senator Hontiveros to chair this subcommittee, to hear this matter,” Pimentel said in a plenary session on Wednesday.
Pimentel moved for a secondary referral of the case to the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality.
However, Senate President Francis Escudero suggested that the Senate Committee on Public Services could be the secondary committee, as lapses in ports and transportation allowed Guo to escape.
“The issue pertains to the seeming absence of lack of, based on the manifestations, absence or lack of checks and balances in our airports,” Escudero said.
The Senate president added that Guo’s escape was referred to the Committee on Justice and Human Rights since the Bureau of Immigration is under the Department of Justice.
However, Pimentel said that Hontiveros had broader knowledge on Guo’s case, having overseen the entire issue since the beginning. He added that the Committee on Justice will still be the main panel to handle the case.
Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino agreed that Hontiveros had the knowledge to head the subcommittee, but said that Escudero was also right.
“Perhaps the Committee on Transportation should also be a part of the aggregated committee that would hear this,” Tolentino suggested.
Pimentel agreed, saying that three Senate panels have joined together in the past for rare occasions.
“Chair hereby orders that the aforestated resolution to refer to the Committees on Justice, Women and Public Services. So ordered,” Escudero said, banging his gavel.
Hontiveros’ investigation into Guo and her alleged ties to Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) has led to a whirlwind of twists and revelations. The former Bamban mayor was implicated in illegal gaming hubs in March after it was discovered that she filed for a POGO’s local license before she became a mayor of Bamban.
Since then, Hontiveros and other senators probed Guo and her alleged ties to criminal rings, with the opposition senator discovering that Guo likely faked her identity. This discovery casted doubts over the integrity of multiple government agencies and institutions, from the Philippine Statistics Authority to the Bureau of Immigration.
Despite a very public investigation into Guo, the dismissed mayor was able to slip through authorities. Hontiveros revealed that Guo traveled to Malaysia and Singapore, which was also confirmed by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has made a strong statement that heads will roll following Guo’s escape, adding that an investigation is underway.
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