Composite photo from Senator Sherwin Gatchalian/Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate Social Media Unit
MANILA, Philippines — Suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo voluntarily listed a certain Wen Yi Lin as her mother when she opened her bank accounts, the Anti Money Laundering Council (AMLC) disclosed on Wednesday.
It was Atty. Emmett Manantan—Director of AMLC’s Investigation and Enforcement Department—who confirmed the matter to senators on Wednesday.
READ: Alice Guo’s mother could also be Chinese, says Gatchalian
At the Senate panel on women’s hearing on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogos), Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian asked what Guo used as her mother’s maiden name when she opened her bank accounts.
“Based on our investigation, there are several variations. Just to give you some of the variations that we are looking at, there’s Winnie Leal, Wennie Leal Lin, Wen Yi Lin Leal, Winnie C. Leal, and then Amelia Lin Leal, and Amelia Leal. So there’s several variations,” said Manantan.
Gatchalian repeatedly clarified if Guo listed a certain Wen Yi Lin, to which Manantan answered on the affirmative side.
READ: Alice Guo urged to undergo DNA test with ‘Lin Wen Yi’
“So in other words, when she opened her account, she voluntarily listed that her mother’s maiden name is Wen Yi Lin. There’s Leal, but we all know that Leal is just a figment of imagination,” said Gatchalian.
“This means, even before this issue came out, she’s voluntarily listing Wen Yi Lin as her mother. This is similar to the Bureau of Immigration documents,” he emphasized.
To recall, it was also Gatchalian who initially pointed out that there’s a big possibility that Guo’s mother is Chinese.
Figment of her imagination
Speaking at a Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum then, the senator said it is highly likely that the “Amelia Leal” earlier introduced by the local chief as her mother is just a figment of her imagination.
Citing the investigation led by his office, Gatchalian earlier said Chinese woman Wen Yi Lin could be Guo’s real mother as the name keeps popping up on Guo family’s financial statements.
He likewise noted that residents of Valenzuela could attest that Wen Yi Lin was referred to as Guo’s mother during the time they were living in the city.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, on the other hand, presented to the media documents from the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Securities and Exchange Commission showing Guo’s co-incorporators in at least seven of her businesses which include her siblings, her father, and Wen Yi Lin.
“The identity of Mayor Alice’s mother is crucial to this whole saga. If her mother is Chinese, and her father is said to be Chinese, it can be proven that the Mayor is not really Filipino. If this is true, the bigger question is: why did she have to pretend? Why is there a need to hide and lie?” Hontiveros earlier pointed out.