MANILA, Philippines — Dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo, whose real name is Guo Hua Ping, may be granted an executive session by the Senate if she can convince the public that she has had a “change of heart” by disclosing more information on her alleged ties to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogos).
This was what Senator Joel Villanueva said in an online interview on Friday when asked how he could be encouraged to grant the request of Guo’s camp to have an executive session on the Senate pogo probe instead of broadcasting it in public.
“Considering what had happened before and ‘yong mga kinilos niya nitong nakaraang hearings, ‘yong mga binabanggit at sinasabi niya nitong nakaraang hearings, kung gano’n din lang at paulit-ulit, alam na alam mo may tinatago,” Villanueva said.
(Considering what had happened before and her actions and words in the previous hearings, the things she has mentioned, if they remain the same and repetitive, you know she is hiding something.)
However, the senator said that if Guo can disclose information and her relation to Huang Ziyang and Duanren Wu, then the Senate might “reconsider.”
“If she can say this time na wala akong itatago, this time itong katauhan ni Huang Ziyang, babanggitin niya, ‘yong mga illegal activities ni Duanren Wu, na tingin ko dapat pagfocusan talaga natin… Kung ‘yon ang mga babanggitin niya, may mga bearing, ito magiging interested tayo, and most likely we will consider,” he added.
(If she can say this time that she has nothing to hide, and if she mentions Huang Ziyang’s identity and the illegal activities of Duanren Wu, which I think we should focus on, then we might be interested and most likely consider it.)
Villanueva also emphasized that Guo must convince the public first that she is telling the truth.
“Kaya for me, say it in public. You want to speak the truth, you have to convince us. And you also have to convince the public na talagang this time around may change of heart ka. Otherwise, hindi kailangan na executive session,” he noted.
(So for me, say it in public. If you want to speak the truth, you need to convince us—and also the public—that this time you truly have a change of heart. Otherwise, there’s no need for an executive session.)
Cassandra Ong in a House quad committee hearing last Wednesday confirmed that Duanren Wu was the top executive of Whirlwind Corp., which leased land to Lucky South 99, a Pogo raided in Pampanga. Wu was revealed to be a former Chinese police officer and Ong’s godfather.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday said that Wu and Ziyang were among the people who facilitated Guo’s movements abroad by booking hotels, processing travels, and having contacts on the ground.
Meanwhile, Villanueva likened the request for an executive session to the Senate being held “hostage,” citing Guo’s evasiveness in the hearings.
“‘Yong mga lawyers niya, parang kung umasta naman parang hostage nila ‘yong Senado to ask for an executive session given the fact that si Guo Hua Ping ay hindi sumasagot. Itong alias Alice na ito ay hindi sumasagot,” Villanueva said.
(Her lawyers act as if they’re holding the Senate hostage by asking for an executive session, given that Guo Hua Ping is not answering. This alias Alice is not responding.)
However, Villanueva then said that he decided to reject the request after being open about the idea of granting it.
READ: Foreigners who allegedly helped Alice Guo, cohorts abroad revealed
“Right now, I have made up my mind. [The] last time you guys interviewed me, open pa ako eh pero (I was still open but) right now I made up my mind. I will not go for an executive session. The public has to know. The public has the right to know,” he said.
The ex-mayor on Monday faced the Senate panel on women and children, chaired by Hontiveros, after being brought back to the country on September 6 following her arrest in Indonesia on September 4.
She is currently detained in the custodial center of the Philippine National Police for the charges on alleged graft and corrupt practices filed by a Tarlac court against her.
Guo repeatedly skipped the panel’s probe into her alleged ties to Pogos, denying that she is associated with them.