The parents of Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo were married as indicated on her birth certificate from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), according to Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros.
During the resumption of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality hearing on Wednesday, Hontiveros described Guo’s testimonies about her background as riddled with holes.
In her earlier testimony, Guo said she was a “love child” of her Chinese father and her Filipino mother. The mayor said her mother worked as a domestic helper for her father’s first family.
After giving birth to her, Guo said her biological mother left her in the custody of her father. Since then, she claimed she never saw her mother again.
Guo said she grew up in their farm, where she had been homeschooled for most of her formative years, which explains her lack of formal education records.
The Hontiveros-chaired panel, however, also obtained the birth certificates of Guo’s siblings, who both carried the same family names as hers. It appeared they were also born from the same set of parents.
PSA records showed that Guo’s biological parents were married on October 14, 1982, contradicting the mayor’s statement they were not married.
According to Guo, she never grew up with siblings, but her father confirmed that he has two other children with her mother.
Pressed to shed light on the inconsistencies of her testimonies with the details obtained from official records, Guo told the senators: “Your honor, I wasn’t the one who prepared the birth certificates, so I have no idea.”
Hontiveros has been digging on the personal and political background of Guo amid questions and suspicions about her loyalty to the Philippines.
The senator reminded that the hearing was never about race, whether Filipinos or foreigners, nor a status in the society. It was about pursuing the truth.
“Let me also take this opportunity to remind all of us: racism is never justified. The Philippines must remain open and dependable to people who follow our law and have no ill intentions, whether Filipinos or foreigners,” Hontiveros said.
“But if they are admitting fugitives, if they conspire with money launderers, if they try to run for public office knowing that they have disqualification, if they are working against our national security, we as elected officials will become a failure as a public servant if we will not investigate it,” she added.
Earlier, Hontiveros noted that Guo has ties with reported criminals, who were listed as co-incorporators of the company she was involved in—Baofu Land Development, Inc.
Hontiveros also mentioned previous investigations in other countries of China planting agents and making them run for public office.