Alice Guo —RICHARD A. REYES | Risa Hontiveros —SENATE PRIB
Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Friday lashed back at Alice Guo after the suspended mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, took to social media accusing her and Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian of digging up her background and alleged ties to a raided online gaming hub just to advance their political careers.
“You have lied about your connections with Pogos (Philippine offshore gaming operators). You have lied about your identity and every time you log in on Facebook, you invent new things,” Hontiveros said, addressing Guo who now faces arrest for repeatedly snubbing recent Senate hearings on the Pogo industry.
READ: Alice Guo may have left PH using Chinese passport – Gatchalian
“So sadly for you, your frequent use of social media is not equivalent to your attendance in the Senate,” the senator said in a statement.
The Office of the Senate Sergeant-At-Arms has yet to locate Guo, members of her family and several others since the chamber issued a warrant for their arrest on July 10.
In a Facebook post on Thursday night, Guo said she was “deeply concerned about and keep questioning why” Hontiveros, Gatchalian and state agencies “seem fixated on me.”
She reiterated that it was “baseless” to link her to Zun Yuan Technology Inc., the company whose sprawling Pogo complex at the back of Guo’s office was built on a property that she formerly owned.
‘Proper forum’
“If they have evidence against me, I am ready to face them in a fair trial and at (the) proper forum,” said Guo, who faces a complaint in the Department of Justice for qualified human trafficking and money laundering, among other crimes.
“Respectfully, I do not wish to be used by anyone to boost their political ambitions,” she added. “I am being accused of all sorts of things because I am currently at the center of public attention.”
The National Bureau of Investigation earlier said Guo’s fingerprints matched with those of one Guo Hua Ping, a Chinese citizen who the senators believed was the mayor’s real identity.
Hontiveros on Friday dismissed Guo’s post, saying the mayor should just face the Senate inquiry instead.
“Don’t worry. We’re not fixated on you. We’re just allergic to liars,” she said. “How can you have peace of mind if you always avoid questions? You must have forgotten that you were summoned because you are at the center of the abuses committed by Pogos, which you allowed to flourish with your influence as mayor.”