Shiela Guo, who is currently under the custody of the Senate of the Philippines, appeared Tuesday on the tripartite committee hearing concerning the alleged escape of her sister, ousted Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo.
In her opening statement, Senate Deputy Minority Leader and presiding officer Risa Hontiveros—chairperson of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality—said the purpose of the hearing is to uncover the truth behind the incident.
“How did Alice Guo—alias Guo Huaping—Shiela Guo and Cassandra Li Ong slip out of the country? There can be no doubt that there are unscrupulous individuals who abetted this patent violation of our Immigration laws,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada in his opening statement.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III clarified from the get go that the inquiry was organized in aid of legislation to determine loopholes in the country’s immigration laws, which allowed persons of interest such as the Guo siblings to travel despite lookout bulletins against them.
The Guos’ business associate, Cassandra Li Ong, was also invited to attend the hearing but reportedly declined, according to her legal counsel Ferdinand Topacio. Ong was placed under the custody of the House of Representatives and was scheduled to appear before its own congressional hearing.
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story. More updates will follow.
