Hontiveros hits back at Guo

Senator Risa Hontiveros took a swipe at suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo on Friday after the latter called out senators for fixating on her instead of focusing on more important issues.

Hontiveros, who chairs the Senate Committee on Women and leads the chamber’s investigation into the raided POGO hub in Bamban, urged Guo to answer the allegations against her in the Senate instead of on social media.

“Mayor Alice Guo or Guo Hua Ping, you have more posts on Facebook than attendance at Senate hearings. Attendance at the Senate hearings is adherence to the rule of law,” Hontiveros said in a statement.

“So sadly for you, your frequent social media postings do not equate to your attendance at the Senate. How can you have peace of mind if you always avoid questions?” she added.

Guo skipped the Senate panel’s investigation two consecutive times, saying she was “not physically and mentally fit.”

The embattled local chief executive has been at the center of a controversy for her alleged ties to the POGO hub in her town.

Guo’s nationality was also questioned after several documents presented at the Senate hearing showed that she was not a Filipino but a Chinese national.

Last month, the National Bureau of Investigation confirmed that Guo’s fingerprints matched those of Guo Hua Ping, a woman who holds a Chinese passport.

Hontiveros reminded Guo that these were the reasons she was summoned by the Senate, which is seeking her arrest for refusing to attend the hearings.

“In case you forgot, you are being summoned because you are at the center of the POGOs’ abuse of our laws, which you allowed to expand due to your influence as mayor,” she said.

“You lied about your connection to POGOs, you lied about your identity, and every time you logged on to Facebook, you invent something new,” she added.

She continued: “Don’t worry, we’re not fixated on you. We are just allergic to liars.”

Guo, in a Facebook post, expressed “deep concern” about the apparent fixation of Hontiveros, Senator Win Gatchalian, and other officials on her.

“If they have evidence against me, I am ready to face them in a fair trial and at the proper forum,” she said.