Senate prepared in Guo case
A PHILIPPINE senator on Monday said she would coordinate with foreign law enforcement agencies if the suspended mayor of Bamban, Tarlac whom she had accused of having links to Chinese espionage manages to flee the country despite a Senate arrest order.
“If the worst-case scenario materializes, that Guo Hua Ping (Alice L. Guo) is no longer in the country, then it is possible for us to seek help from law enforcement agencies overseas,” Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros, who is leading a Senate probe of crimes linked to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO), told a virtual news briefing in Filipino.
She added that foreign law enforcement agencies could aid the government’s probe of criminal syndicates linked to these gambling outfits.
At the weekend, the Senate ordered the arrest of Bamban Mayor Alice L. Guo after citing her in contempt for skipping Senate hearings.
The suspended mayor has asserted her innocence amid accusations of her involvement in illegal POGOs and crimes such as human trafficking. She also insists she is a Filipino citizen. — John Victor D. Ordoñez