NBI RECORDS SHOW THERE’S ANOTHER ALICE GUO

ARE there two Alice Leal Guos? Or is this a case of stolen identity?.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, chairman of the Senate  Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality raised the questions during the resumption on Thursday of the Senate hearing on Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and her possible connection to illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs). 

According to Hontiveros, they obtained a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance showing another Alice Guo with the same name and birthday.

The NBI documents show a certain Alice Leal Guo who has the same birthday as the Bamban mayor–July 12, 1986—but does not look like the suspended official. 

“Is this a case of stolen identity? Has Guo Hua Ping assumed the identity of a Filipino woman and then nearly a decade later, ran for public office?” Hontiveros asked.

“Sino po ang babaeng ito na may pangalang Alice Leal Guo pero hindi kamukha ni mayor? Nasaan na po siya ngayon?” she added.

“Same ang birthday sa birth certificate ni Alice Leal Guo na tumakbong mayor. Pareho ang spelling ng pangalan, pero ibang iba ang mukha,”Hontiveros said.

“Is it a coincidence na may dalawang Alice Leal Guo na pinanganak on July 12, 1986, sa Tarlac? Is it a coincidence that this NBI clearance was applied for just a few days before the date of filing of the delayed registration of birth of the other Alice Leal Guo in Tarlac City? Or is this a case of stolen identity?”  she said.

Guo Hua Ping is a Chinese national whom some senators and authorities allege is the real identity of Mayor Guo. 

NBI Regional Director Jerry Abiera said there are two Alice Leal Guos in their database but does not mean there is a problem with their system. 

Despite having the same name and birth date, Abiera explained that fingerprint scans can be a way to determine if they are separate individuals.

“Ang mas maganda, ma-determine natin dahil ‘yung fingerprint magkaiba talaga ‘yan. Para ma-determine natin whether or not ‘yung tao na ‘yan or si mayor ay magkaiba,” said Abiera

Hontiveros requested the NBI to check the whereabouts of Guo in their records and find out whether she is still alive.

Mayor Guo was a no-show in the June 26 hearing. Her lawyer Stephen David said his client is ill and stressed. 

In a letter sent to the Committee, Guo said she is not fit to be a resource person.

The Bamban mayor said the accusations against her affected her physical and mental health, and she has been exposed to public ridicule, humiliation and hatred which tarnished her public image, character and reputation. 

The Committee did not accept her reasoning and ordered her to be subpoenaed, along with her family and other resource persons who did not attend the hearing.

Hontiveros warned that if Guo does not come to the next hearing, she will be cited in contempt.  

Meanwhile, Guo maintained that she’s Filipino and  denied having ties to POGOs in Bamban and being a Chinese spy.

Guo said she was raised on the farm of her father, was homeschooled, and that her maid mother left her.

But as weeks passed, authorities discovered discrepancies in several documents involving Guo, as well as holes in her stories.

Guo was removed from the list of members of the Nationalist People’s Coalition led by former Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.

The Bamban mayor is currently serving an Ombudsman-ordered six-month suspension, which started May 31, and faces human trafficking charges filed by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) in connection with her alleged links to the grand conspiracy to commit labor trafficking of around 500 foreign POGO workers.