MANILA, Philippines — The controversial members of the Guo family are professional liars and swindlers, at least according to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.
Speaking to reporters at a Kapihan sa Senado forum on Thursday, the senator warned against fully trusting members of the Guo family, particularly Alice and Shiela.
Gatchalian recalled how Alice, otherwise known as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, previously claimed that she grew up on a farm, was homeschooled, and was innocent.
According to the senator, all of these claims were proven to be completely false.
“We have to be very careful with this Guo family. Parang, ano sila eh, mga professional, parang (They are like) professional liars and professional swindlers,” said Gatchalian.
“That’s why we have to be careful. Of course, the demeanor tells us one part, but it’s important also to look at the evidence,” the senator added.
As for Shiela, Gatchalian admitted that he found her stories unconvincing, pointing out that existing documents refute her claims of innocence.
He questioned Shiela’s supposed willingness to flee the Philippines with Alice and Wesley without merely asking where they were going or why they were escaping in the first place.
“So ‘yun pa lang, parang hindi believable ‘yung kanyang kwento doon. At marami rin mga details na inconsistent. For example, sinabi niya na first time niya nakilala si Cassandra Ong sa Malaysia. Pero lumabas na bumabyahe sila. At meron kaming mga flight details na nakita,” said Gatchalian.
(Just for that part, her story is already unbelievable. There are also inconsistencies in her details. For example, she told us that the first time that she saw Cassandra Ong was in Malaysia. But they had been traveling together. We have seen their flight details.)
“At sinabi nga niya na, wala siyang kinalaman sa negosyo, pero nakita namin sa mga corporate papers na siya ay corporate secretary,” he emphasized.
(And she earlier told us that she was not involved in the business, but we have seen in corporate papers that she is a corporate secretary.)
A document shared by Gatchalian’s office showed that Shiela served as a corporate secretary and treasurer to some of Alice’s corporations. Shiela earlier claimed that she only manages her family’s embroidery business.
“So ibig sabihin, sa documents alone, sentro siya sa aktibidad ng Guo family. Sentro siya sa negosyo, sentro siya sa mga financial transactions nila,” he said.
(So that means based on the documents alone, she’s at the center of the activities of the Guo family. She’s at the center of business, she’s at the center of financial transactions.)
Alice and Shiela, as well as other members of the controversial Guo family — Wesley, Jian Zhong Guo, Seimen, and Wen Yi Lin — are subject to the Senate’s arrest order for refusing to appear in the hearing of the committee on women last July 10.