Senate releases Guo’s accountant

The Senate on Monday released suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo’s accountant Nancy Gamo, who has been detained at the upper chamber for more than two weeks.

During the fifth hearing of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family, and Gender Equality into the illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), its chair, Senator Risa Hontiveros approved the motion lifting the contempt order against Gamo.

Citing Gamo’s cooperation, Senator Robin Padilla made the motion before the conclusion of the hearing.

“I would like to suggest that we release, what should we call you, Ma'am or Sir? Anything is fine, are you sure? Miss Nancy. Nancy Jimenez Gamo, Madam Chair, has been very cooperative with us, so I request that she be released from the custody of the Senate. I so move,” Padilla said.

Hontiveros approved the motion, stressing that she was about to order the release of Gamo, who was arrested by members of the Senate Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms at her residence in Caloocan City on 13 July.

“The chair was actually going to make that ruling before we suspend,” she said.

To recall, Gamo, including Guo and six others were ordered arrested by the Senate panel skipping the resumption of its hearing into the raided POGOs.

‘Guo is lying’

During the hearing, Gamo insisted that she has been the accountant of the embattled local chief executive since 2012 on a transactional basis.

“She (Guo) was lying,” Gamo said when asked by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian about Guo’s denial that she has a relationship with her.

Gamo said that Guo contacted her for her service to process the registration of Hong Sheng Gaming Technology and Zun Yuan Technology Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Guo was a former incorporator of Baofu Land Development which owned the compound where Hong Sheng leased office space. The POGO firm was shut down for illegal activities such as scamming.

“It was also Alice who referred my service to Zun Yuan because as I said, Alice was my only client in Tarlac. So, whoever knows me there, it was through Alice,” she said.

Gamo also opposed Guo’s assertion that she only acted as a “bridge” for Hong Sheng.

“She was saying she only acted as a bridge. I could not say that she was not involved because the first company’s lease contract was under the name of Baofu, and its representative was Alice Guo,” she said.