Suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo (left) and Senator Risa Hontiveros (File photos from RICHARD A. REYES / SENATE PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — Active on Facebook but could not face the Senate?
Opposition Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Monday rebuked suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo on Monday for hiding behind Facebook, instead of facing the Senate probe into her alleged ties to Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos).
Guo took to Facebook last July 12 to address her supporters, and insist that she is a Filipino.
The following day, the Senate ordered her arrest and her family members.
“Kung nakakapag-Facebook ka, siguro naman kaya mo nang humarap sa Senado,” Hontiveros said during a virtual press conference.
(If you can use Facebook, maybe you can also face the Senate)
“Ginamit mo pa ang Facebook para sa pagpapakalat ng FAKE NEWS na Pilipino kayo. Hindi ka Pilipino. Ang titibay na ng ebidensya.”
(You’re using Facebook to spread fake news that you’re a Filipino. You’re not a Filipino. The evidence is strong.)
“Nakakainsulto sa mamamayan na ginamit mo ang nasyonalidad namin para magpayaman, manloko at magpasok ng mga POGO na puro krimen ang dala sa bansa,” added Hontiveros.
(It is insulting to our people that you used our nationality to enrich yourself, deceive others, and bring in POGOs that bring crime to the country.)
The senator has been leading the probe into crimes linked to illegal Pogos as head of the Senate committee on women.
She does not rule out the possibility that someone maybe helping or hiding Guo.
“Syempre, posible na kapag ang isang public figure na ito nga hanggang nito lamang ay napaka-active naman sa Facebook ay di pa rin ma-servan ng warrant of arrest dahil hindi mahanap, then posible na may nagtatago sa kanya,” she said, responding to a reporter’s query.
(Of course, it’s possible that if this public figure has been very active on Facebook until now and still hasn’t been served a warrant of arrest because she can’t be found, then it’s possible someone’s hiding her.)
“At kung ganun ay posibleng matanong din sa kanila kung hindi ba sila guilty ng obstruction of justice dahil covered na po ng isang citation in contempt at warrant of arrest mula sa Senado,” she said.
(And if that’s the case, they could also be asked whether they are guilty of obstruction of justice, as there is already a citation for contempt and a warrant of arrest from the Senate).
The contempt citation and arrest order were due to Guo’s repeated failure to attend the Senate probe.
Although Guo could not be located yet by the Senate security, Hontiveros remains hopeful that the suspended mayor is still in the country.
In the event that Guo has already left the country, then the Senate panel may ask the local law enforcement agencies to seek assistance from their counterparts in other countries.
“That’s one possibility that I see,” Hontiveros said when asked about the direction of the probe without Guo in its next hearings.
With or without Guo, Hontiveros reiterated that the probe will continue with other resource persons to be invited to the next hearing on July 29.
Among the resource persons invited in the hearing are former Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque and former Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation chief Andrea Domingo.
Roque was previously named in the last hearing as the legal counsel of the raided Pogo firm Lucky South 99, but he denied it.
NOTE: The English translations in the article were AI-generated.