MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Risa Hontiveros denied the authenticity of edited photos circulating online that allegedly show her with dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo.
“Mag-ingat po sa mga edited photos online na magkasama kami diumano at magkaibigan daw kami. THIS IS FAKE,” Hontiveros said on X, formerly Twitter. ("Be careful of edited photos online that allegedly show us together and claim that we are friends. THIS IS FAKE.")
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“We will get to the bottom of who is circulating this,” the senator added in the tweet.
Hontiveros is the head of the Senate committee on women and children probing abuses of the Philippine Offshore Gaming (POGO) industry. She had interrogated Guo at the public hearings earlier this year.
It was Hontiveros who alerted the public that Guo, facing multiple cases and public inquiries on her role in illegal gaming operations, was has fled the country earlier this week.
Meanwhile, Shiela Leal Guo, sister of Alice Guo, and POGO incorporator Cassandra Li Ong returned to the Philippines on Thursday after Indonesian authorities arrested them in Riau. Alice, who was reported to be accompanying them, managed to escape and remains at large.
The Senate probe into Alice Guo's case has uncovered various irregularities, including her alleged use of a fake Filipino identity to run for public office and her supposed involvement in the operations of a POGO hub in Bamban that was linked to criminal activities such as human trafficking and illegal online gambling.