Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros —Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau
MANILA, Philippines — After the Office of the Ombudsman found Alice Guo guilty of grave misconduct, Senator Risa Hontiveros called on law enforcers to work double time to catch the now dismissed Bamban mayor, noting that justice remains elusive until she is found.
In a statement on Monday, Hontiveros said Alice or Guo Hua Ping does not deserve to be a Philippine mayor because she is a Chinese national.
“She should have been stripped of that title immediately after we confirmed that she was not Filipino,” said Hontiveros.
READ: Ombudsman orders dismissal of Alice Guo over Pogo links
“She has no right to serve the Filipino people. And she should be held accountable for her violation of our laws. I trust that our law enforcers are working double time to catch this fugitive,” she added.
While she commended the Office of the Ombudsman’s decision, Hontiveros said as long as she is not found, “our search for justice will not be complete.”
The Office of the Ombudsman found Guo guilty of grave misconduct, which merited “dismissal from service with forfeiture of all her retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification to re-enter government service.”
READ: Guo sighted in Bulacan; law enforcers urged to arrest mayor in a month
In a separate statement also issued Monday, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said Guo can run but she cannot hide from the strong arm of the law.
“This is proof that she is the mastermind and the one who moved to build the Philippine offshore gaming operator in Bamban that is involved in illegal activities such as human trafficking, torture, and money laundering,” he said.
The Senate earlier issued an arrest order against Guo and seven others for refusing to appear, despite due notices, at the committee on women’s hearing on July 10.
The document stated that Guo’s refusal to appear before the Senate “delayed, impeded, and obstructed” the inquiry into the reported violation of human trafficking, serious illegal detention, and physical abuse and torture in the premises of an internet gaming licensee of the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation.
Guo is subjected to scrutiny after the Senate panel on women bared her alleged ties to illegal pogo firm Zun Yuan Technology Inc. in Bamban, Tarlac.
Questions about her citizenship were also raised, leading to allegations that she is a Chinese spy—which she vehemently denied.