EX MAYOR ALICE GUO’S SISTER APPEARS BEFORE SENATE HEARING: Shiela Leal Guo, sister of former Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, made her first appearance at the Senate hearing Tuesday, August 27, 2024. Sen. Risa Hontiveros urged the Department of Foreign Affairs to cancel Alice Guo’s passport. An order of arrest was issued against Guo after her repeated refusal to attend the Senate investigation into the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator hubs in Porac, Pampanga and Bamban, Tarlac. Sheila Guo was arrested in Indonesia last August 20. She said she left together with her sister, Alice, and they took a boat to escape the country. (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)
MANILA, Philippines — Where did dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo go?
Even her sister, Shiela Guo, said she doesn’t know where Alice is after they parted ways in Indonesia.
In her testimony in the Senate hearing on Tuesday, Shiela said she and her siblings, Alice and Wesley, left the Philippines by sea to Malaysia.
READ: Shiela Guo confirms escaping PH with siblings Alice, Wesley via boat
She did not say when they left the country, but Sen. Risa Hontiveros previously revealed that Alice Guo left the Philippines on July 18.
From Malaysia, the Guo siblings went to Singapore and then proceeded to Indonesia on August 18.
“O ngayon ang tanong ko, nasaan ang kapatid mo? (Now my question is, where is your sibling?)” Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada asked, referring to Alice.
“Hindi ko po alam (I don’t know),” Shiela answered.
READ: Alice Guo’s controversies: From Senate Pogo probe to her escape
She reiterated that while they arrived together in Malaysia, they separated in Indonesia either on August 19 or August 20
When Estrada pressed where Alice is, Shiela said: “Wala po siyang sinabi (She did not say anything). ”
“Basta-basta lang umalis (She just left)?” the senator asked.
“Sabi lang niya sa akin hiwalay na muna, ate. Tapos tanong ko siya saan siya punta? Sabi niya sa akin wag ko daw alamin,” Shiela said.
(She just told me, ‘We’re taking a break for now, sis.’ When I asked her where she was going, she told me not to find out.)
According to her, even their brother, Wesley, was separated from them while they were in Indonesia.
From Indonesia, however, Shiela said she and Wesley were planning to go back to Singapore before going to Hong Kong.
READ: Senate hears Alice Guo’s escape details, Hontiveros notes gaps
“Babalik kami sa Singapore sana tapos balak kaming deretso sa Hong Kong,” she said.
(We were supposed to return to Singapore and then planned to go directly to Hong Kong.)
“Sino kayo? Kayo ni Alice (You and Alice)? ” Estrada asked, but Shiela said she was supposed to travel with Wesley.
“How about Alice?” the senator asked.
“Hindi ko alam, kasi hiwalay na po kami (I don’t know because we’re already separated),” Shiela said.
Estrada reminded Shiela of her statement that Wesley was also separated from them.
Shiela clarified that they were only separated in Indonesia.
At this point, Hontiveros cited information she received that a certain “ZJ” booked four rooms at the Harris Hotel Batam Center.
“Nag-book po siya ng apat na kuwarto dun sa Haris Hotel so parang hindi siya para sa hiwa-hiwalay na tao, para siya sa isang grupo ng apat na tao. Just pointing that out kasi kontra dun sa sinasabi mong magkakahiwalay-hiwalay,” Hontiveros said.
(ZJ booked four rooms at the Haris Hotel, so it seems like it wasn’t for separate people but rather for a group of four. I’m just pointing that out because it’s contrary to what you’re saying about being separated.)
Alice is the subject of a Senate probe in connection with her alleged ties to illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) in her town in Bamban.
Sheila and Alice’s business partner, Cassandra Ong, were arrested in Indonesia on August 21 and they were sent back to the Philippines on August 22.
Shiela and Ong are currently detained in the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, as the two chambers hold separate probes on Pogos.