ALICE GUO CITED IN CONTEMPT ANEW

A Senate panel on Monday moved again to cite  dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo in contempt.

 Senator Risa Hontiveros, chairperson of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality leading the probe moved to cite Guo in contempt anew for allegedly lying repeatedly about her real identity.

It was the second time the panel cited Guo in contempt. The first one was in July due to her repeated absence in its probe, which became the basis for an earlier arrest order.

The panel justified the contempt order by citing Guo’s refusal to confirm that she was Chinese national Guo Hua Ping despite being presented with the National Bureau of Investigation findings of them having identical fingerprints.

During a hearing on Monday,  Guo refused to confirm that she was Chinese national Guo Hua Ping despite being presented with the National Bureau of Investigation findings of them having identical fingerprints.

“Ang alam ko ako si Alice Guo,” she told senators.

Guo also told the panel that she and her siblings Shiela and Wesley were “smuggled out” of the country and did not escape.

Alice contradicted her sister’s earlier testimony that she asked her elder sister to accompany her abroad because she was “sad and bored.” She brought $20,000 to fund their “trip.”

The former mayor said there was a time during their journey at sea that she “regretted” leaving the country and contemplated returning.

Alice also said that she started receiving death threats in June over the phone. But she refused to provide details, which prompted senators to accuse her of just making it up.

The dismissed Bamban mayor also denied that Sual, Pangasinan Mayor Liseldo Calugay is her “boyfriend” amid reports that he helped her escape.

She declined to identify who facilitated their escape but clarified that “no Filipino” helped them reach Malaysia.

Alice said they boarded a yacht at a “port in Manila” and were met by a foreign woman. A few hours later, they transferred to a bigger ship. Then, after about four days, they transferred to a smaller boat and eventually reached Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Sen. Francis Tolentino said the Senate should take custody of Guo since it is the Senate who first issued the warrant of arrest against her, and the same document was recognized by Indonesian authorities in arresting her.