MANILA, Philippines— Dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo left the country because she was sad, her sister Shiela told senators on Tuesday.
Shiela was quizzed by senators when she faced the hearing of the Senate subcommittee on justice and human rights tasked to tackle Senator Risa Hontiveros’ call to cancel Alice’s Philippine passport.
Alice, Shiela, and other members of her family have been ordered arrested by the Senate as Hontiveros’ committee on women probes the former mayor’s alleged ties to illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos)
“Ang sabi niya, nalulungkot daw siya. Sabi niya, ‘Ate samahan mo ako, may pupuntahan tayo,’” Shiela said.
(She said she’s feeling sad. She told me, ‘Ate, come with me. We’re going somewhere.’)
She was responding to Sen. Grace Poe, who asked how Alice explained to her siblings why they had to leave the country.
“Hindi mo naman siya tinanong kung bakit siya nalukungkot?” Poe asked again.
(Didn’t you ask why she was feeling sad?)
“Alam ko e, dahil sa hearing,” Shiela answered.
(What I know is it’s because of the hearing.)
Earlier in the hearing, Shiela narrated how she and her siblings, Alice and Wesley, left the Philippines by sea to Malaysia last month before heading to Singapore and Indonesia.
According to Shiela, they arrived in Indonesia on August 18 but parted ways either on August 19 or 20.
“Hindi ka ba nagtaka bakit siya biglang nawala?” Poe asked.
(Weren’t you curious why she suddenly disappeared?)
Shiela said, “Sabi niya sa akin, hiwalay daw muna kami. Huwag daw akong maraming tanong.”
(She told me that we should be apart for a while and not to ask too many questions.)
Poe pressed her further, asking if Shiela did not even bother to ask Alice how long they would stay in Indonesia or if they would still come back to the Philippines.
“Wala po siyang sinasabi (She didn’t say anything),” Shiela said.
“So ang iniisip mo, dun kayo sa Indonesia nang hindi mo alam kung gaano katagal?” Poe then asked.
(So, you’re thinking that you were going to Indonesia without knowing how long you would stay?)
When Shiela said yes, the senator said: “Nakakapagtaka ‘yun (That’s strange).”
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, a former police chief, was more suspicious of Shiela’s answers in the hearing.
“Totoo ba ‘yung sinabi mo kanina na hindi mo alam na ang purpose bakit kayo umalis? Sinabi mo lang malungkot lang si Alice kaya aalis kayo?” Dela Rosa asked.
(Is it true what you said earlier, that you didn’t know the purpose of why you were leaving? You only mentioned that Alice was feeling sad, so you were going to leave?)
Shiela answered in the affirmative, reiterating that she had no idea why they were leaving the Philippines.
Dela Rosa went on to ask why Shiela did not even wonder why they had to take a boat to Malaysia when they could have just traveled by air.
Shiela explained that Alice did not tell her they were going to Malaysia, as the latter simply told her they were going somewhere.
Dela Rosa then pressed Shiela, asking why did they not question Alice further when they were transferring from one boat to another to get to Malaysia.
“Dun sa ano na, nagduda na ako e. Nandun na ako e. Ano ang gagawin ko? Babalik pa ako dito sa Pilipinas?” Shiela answered.
(That’s when I started to have doubts. I was already there. What could I do? Should I come back to the Philippines?)
It was at this point that Dela Rosa accused Shiela of lying before the committee.
“Hindi man kita sinasabing pabalikin dito pero halata na nagsinugaling ka,” a visibly irked Dela Rosa said.
(I’m not saying you should come back here, but it’s obvious that you’re lying.)
“Sorry po, sorry po,” Shiela said.
But her apology fell on deaf ears as Dela Rosa continued to lash at her.
“Huwag mo kaming lokohin dito kasi baka akala mo kung ano ang ginagawa ni Alice Guo sa komite na ito, kaya mong gawin,” he said.
(Don’t try to fool us here because you might think that whatever Alice Guo is doing in this committee, you can do too.)
Shiela apologized again to the senator, but the latter dismissed it.
“Anong pasensya? You’re lying!” Dela Rosa said.
“Makinig ka, makinig ka, making ka ha,” he said, “Huwag mo kaming lokohin dito. Niloloko mo kami. Klaro na hindi ka nagtanong sa kapatid mo bakit kayo magbangka at hating-gabi tayo lalayas dito, tapos sasabihin mo sa amin ngayon na hindi mo alam lalayas na pala kayo ng Pilipinas. Tell it to the Marines. Huwag kaming lokohin dito.”
(Listen, listen, listen. Don’t try to deceive us here. You’re trying to fool us. It’s clear that you didn’t ask your sister why you were taking a boat and leaving in the middle of the night, and now you’re telling us that you didn’t know you were actually planning to leave the Philippines. Tell it to the Marines. Don’t lie to us here.)
“Baka akala niyo kaya niyong lokohin lahat ng opisyales ng gobyerno, na kayang mabayaran ha. Kami dito hindi pwedeng bayaran ha. Walang pwdeng magbayad kahit na milyon-milyon ang mga pera ninyong ng mga Chinese kayo. Walang makabayad sa amin dito kaya huwag mo kaming lokohin,” the senator stressed.
(Maybe you think you can fool all government officials and that you can bribe them. You can’t bribe us here. No one can buy us off even if you Chinese have millions of money. No one can pay us off, so don’t try to fool us.)
Shiela 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 is currently detained in the Senate while Ong is detained in the House of Representatives, which is conducting its own hearing on Pogos.
NOTE: The English translations in the article were AI-generated.