Alice Guo. Photo from Joseph B. Vidal, OSP/ Voltaire F. Domingo, Senate Social Media Unit
MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers believe that dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo’s agitation during the latest House of Representatives’ quad committee hearing was a sign that something about her true personality was revealed.
Quad committee lead presiding officer and Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, in a phone interview with reporters on Monday, said that it seems the report from foreign news outfit Al Jazeera about a Chinese spy arrested in Thailand struck a chord in Guo.
Guo appeared visibly agitated and lost her cool when Davao Oriental 2nd District Rep. Cheeno Almario presented the Al Jazeera report about Chinese spy She Zhijiang, who claimed he funneled funds to Guo Hua Ping—believed to be Guo’s true Chinese identity—for her election campaign in Tarlac.
READ: Agitated? Alice Guo loses cool after House shows docu on Chinese spy
The same documentary showed Guo’s alleged hometown in Fujian, China, which sat close to a Chinese Communist Party office.
“Well, it’s obvious to me that seems to be the initial reaction of someone whose cover was blown, I think. So, it is clear that she did not expect that there would be a documentary from Al Jazeera that would be shown. The information did not come from us,” Barbers said.
“The reason why we released it (documentary) is because one of the things we are trying to ascertain in our investigation of Alice Guo is her identity. We saw the report from Al Jazeera, and we showed it so that she could address this information directly. And then we asked her if she is a Filipino but as you saw, she insisted that she is a Filipino,” he added.
Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro, meanwhile, said that it seems the quad committee touched on something sensitive to Guo.
READ: As docu angers Guo, she’s told about ‘8 steps’ of Chinese spying
“I think we touched something that is very sensitive. We touched something which is sensitive information on Alice Go. So, it’s two things: it’s either she was mad because she hates being charged or suspected as a spy. Or she was mad because evidence corroborating claims that she is a Chinese spy?” Luistro said.
“We will never know until we conduct a deeper investigation on Alice Guo being a Chinese spy. But I think we have the same (idea) — Alice Guo has a light and very jolly personality, but she suddenly shifted into somebody who is really irritated and agitated because she heard the word Chinese,” she added.
Guo was seen sneering while Almario asked her about the Al Jazeera video, shaking her head several times. The former mayor’s replies, too, were outside of her usual replies — that she does not remember things and refuses to answer to avoid self-incrimination.
After Almario’s interpellation, PBA party-list Rep. Margarita Nograles noticed that Guo had been emotional and agitated after discussing She Zhijang’s claims.
“You were saying that you did not know him (She Zhijang) and you will file cases, but what does he stand to gain from this?” Nograles asked.
“Your Honor I think it’s better for you to ask him because he is the one who released the video so he will be the one who can explain how this would benefit him, but for me, definitely I am not a spy,” Guo said.
“Okay, just relax lang […] why are you mad??” Nograles asked again.
“I’m mad because this was what happened the last time around, they are insisting that I am a spy, but I love the Philippines, I am a Filipino, I am not a spy,” Guo said.
According to Nograles, Guo does not have to be riled up with these discussions.
Guo faced the quad committee for the second time last Friday, as the four panels continued their probe into the illegal activities inside Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogo).
Guo has maintained several times that she is not linked to the Pogo in Bamban, but the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) itself accused her of having business interests in Baofu, which owns the land where the raided Pogo sits.
DILG said Baofu, as represented by Guo, who was president of the company, purchased eight parcels of land in Bamban last February 2019.
Guo claims to have divested ownership of Baofu when she ran for mayor, but DILG believes the amount she divested it for — P2.5 million — was “grossly incongruent to her investment in Baufo, which is approximately eight hectares of land”.
This issue became the basis of cases against Guo, for which she was placed on preventive suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman. Eventually, the Ombudsman decided to dismiss Guo for being guilty of grave misconduct, which merited “dismissal from service with forfeiture of all her retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification to re-enter government service.”