Senator Nancy Binay slammed several resource persons’ misuse of mental health cases as a convenient excuse to skip congressional inquiries and investigations.

"There has been a concerning trend attempting to use mental health as a way to avoid appearing before the Senate. We don’t want this to happen in the Senate and become precedent,” Binay told reporters on Thursday. 

Binay was pertaining to suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo who claimed suffering from mental problems after being subjected to Senate scrutiny, following the revelations into her alleged connection to illegal operations of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in her town in Tarlac during the previous hearings.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, the chairperson of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, issued a subpoena compelling Guo and her family to attend Wednesday’s resumption of the hearing on raided POGO hubs in the country. 

Despite the subpoena, Guo did not appear in the inquiry and instead sent a letter addressed to the committee chairperson.

In her letter, Guo informed Hontiveros of her decision not to attend the hearing, citing the death threats against her that "worsened her physical and mental condition."

“For a few months now, I have been the subject of malicious accusations. I have been ridiculed, my dignity has been debased and my personal life and even my identity have been questioned and mocked,” Guo said.

“Not to mention, I have been constantly receiving death threats that I cannot simply ignore as I am afraid that these threats may endanger my life,” she added, lamenting that she already sought medical help.

“Medical professionals that I have consulted refused to issue a medical certificate stating my condition for fear that they may also experience the humiliation and ridicule that I am going through.”

Binay doubted Guo’s non-appearance before the Senate. 

She said Guo’s letter “sends a dangerous message that mental health can be manipulated as a legal shield, potentially leading to further stigmatization of mental health conditions.”

“Using it as a loophole to evade legal responsibilities not only harms the entire process of the inquiry but also perpetuates a stigma against those truly struggling with mental health issues,” Binay further stressed.

Binay then suggested to the Senate to designate a government psychologist and psychiatrist “to validate medical reports or certifications” to be sent to the chamber “ perhaps in the forthcoming hearings.”

She continued there’s a need to strike a balance between understanding “genuine mental health issues to prevent exploitation” of such condition. 

“Unless there is substantial proof of a severe and incapacitating condition, the state-appointed medical professional can make recommendations to the committee whether or not to require the resource person to appear,” Binay pressed on.