(UPDATES) SUSPENDED Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo eluded arrest, but her accountant was now in Senate custody, according to Senate President Francis Escudero, citing a report by the Office of the Senate Sergeant-At-Arms (OSAA).
Escudero said Guo had left her residence at Bamban, QJJ Farm, before the team that was to enforce the arrest order arrived.
The OSAA team was accompanied by contingents from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) in searching for Guo.
Meanwhile, Nancy Gamo, the alleged accountant of the mayor, was arrested by the OSAA Team Marilao and Team Valenzuela at the Garment Factory in Marilao, Bulacan.
Members of Guo’s family and another alleged accomplice also eluded arrest.
ONE DOWN Suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo’s accountant Nancy Gamo undergoes a medical check-up at the Senate following her arrest on July 13, 2024. The Senate issued an arrest order against Guo, members of her family and alleged accomplices after they refused to attend an ongoing Senate inquiry into a raid of an unauthorized Philippine offshore gaming operator hub in Bamban. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The OSAA informed Escudero that its teams were not allowed entry into the garments factory identified with the Guos in Valenzuela City.
Gamo underwent medical check-up, part of the standard operating procedure (SOP) when someone is detained at the Senate.
Gamo is one of eight individuals cited for contempt due to her failure to attend Senate hearings despite receiving subpoenas.
Aside from Guo and Gamo, also ordered arrested were Dennis Cunanan, Sheila Guo, Wesley Guo, Jian Zhong Go, Seimen Guo and Wenyi Lin.
The Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality issued the arrest orders after Guo and the others ignored summons to the hearings into their alleged involvement in human trafficking, among others, that surfaced during a raid on an illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub in Bamban.
Retired Lt. Gen. Roberto Ancan, the Senate sergeant-at- arms, said that once arrested, Guo would be detained at the detention facility of the OSAA until she appears and testifies before the committee.
“It’s crucial to understand that non-compliance could lead to her continued detention. Alternatively, she can purge herself of the contempt by complying with the Senate’s orders and showing respect for the investigation, which could lead to her release from detention,” Ancan said.
Earlier in the day, the OSAA deployed four teams to enforce the arrest order issued by the committee, dated July 11, 2024 but was released only on Saturday. It was approved by Escudero.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, committee chairman, said issuing the arrest order was the first step to making Mayor Guo or Guo Hua Ping accountable to our laws.
“With the number of lies and possible crimes of Mayor Alice and those involved in POGO, this is not merely procedural. This arrest order upholds the Senate’s mandate to safeguard Filipinos’ well-being,” she said.
Hontiveros said they were continuously waiting for her appearance in the next hearing and those cited in contempt.
“Show yourselves. Hiding will not erase the truth,” she said.
Similarly, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III advised Mayor Guo to manage her stress and emotions so she could attend the next hearing.
Pimentel said that Guo had nothing to worry about since good lawyers would assist her throughout the proceedings.
In the meantime, the minority leader urged the government to face reality and bite the bullet regarding the growing concerns related to POGO.
Pimentel hoped President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would address the issue in his upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA).
“Who knows, maybe he’s dribbling us to announce it at the SONA,” Pimentel said in Filipino. He added that Marcos would gain positive political points if he announced a total ban on POGO.
Pimentel highlighted several critical issues surrounding POGOs: “It is not good neighborly behavior. It destroys our labor policy, promotes a gambling culture, damages foreign relations, and contributes to the rise in criminality.”
The senator also questioned the economic benefits of POGOs, suggesting that the costs associated with law enforcement outweigh the revenue generated.
“If we look at the country’s income from POGO, minus the country’s expenses in law enforcement, we even have to shell out,” he said in English and Filipino.
Pimentel also pointed out the unfulfilled promises related to POGO revenues. “The P30 to P40 billion cash inflow that was promised never happened. The figure that was collected never reached that. So, what should we do? Face the reality, bite the bullet, say goodbye to an undesirable business,” he said.
‘No regrets’
Meanwhile, Guo took to social media on Friday night, her birthday, to say that she has “no regrets” joining local politics but admitted that she almost “lost” herself because she got “hurt deeply” by it.
“The most frequently asked question to me was, ‘Alice, did you regret joining politics?’ The answer is no, but I got hurt deeply because of it and I almost lost myself,” she wrote in Filipino.
The suspended mayor recalled being at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Bamban’s Dapdap Resettlement in 2021, thanking her constituents for their support.
“All I want to say is thank you so much for the opportunity and trust you gave me, ka-Bamban,” she wrote. “I’m beyond grateful for the unending support despite all of these accusations.”
She also apologized to the town for “not being physically present” to “each and every one” of them.
Also in her post, Guo thanked her colleagues at the local government unit (LGU), the town’s council, village officials, the youth, and also to Bamban’s “hardworking school heads, principals, teachers, daycare workers and alike” as well as its senior citizens, farmers, businessmen, religious leaders, and the LGBTQIA+ community.
“I will never forget all our shared experiences and hard work to bring Bamban to where it is today. This wouldn’t have been possible without your dedication, diligence, and love,” she wrote.
“I would like to apologize to the people who were affected and those who were unintentionally implicated. I am also urging everyone to stop spreading false information,” she said.
The suspended mayor said she was praying to overcome her “challenges” and added that a part of her heart would always be for Bamban.
“You filled the void of my heart; you have been my inspiration. Spread love and peace to one and all,” Guo said.
“I am a Filipino, and I have a big heart for Bamban. And I love the Philippines,” she said.
Guo ended her post by telling her constituents that what she was going through was “challenging but will never give up” and that “everything is temporary.”
The embattled town mayor, suspended since June 3, was facing “reported violations of human trafficking, serious illegal detention, and physical abuse and torture in the premises of a Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) internet gaming licensee.”
Leonardo Anunciacion is currently serving as Bamban’s acting mayor.
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