Mayor Guo surfaces… on Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — Her whereabouts unknown since being ordered arrested by the Senate, suspended Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac appeared on Facebook (Meta) yesterday to deny she was behind an alleged plot to assassinate Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Risa Hontiveros, who are leading an investigation on her possible links to illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).

In a post shared by her legal counsel Stephen David, Guo also defended her decision not to appear before the Senate committee on women, children, family and gender equality chaired by Hontiveros, saying her health and peace of mind are her priority.

“I categorically deny any involvement in the death threats received by Sen. Win Gatchalian. I have no capacity, much less intent, to cause any harm against anyone. In fact, I myself have been receiving actual and online threats since the start of this issue,” she said on Facebook where she has more than 100,000 followers.

“I am well-aware of the feeling of receiving threats against my person, safety and security. Thus, I strongly condemn such inhumane or callous acts,” Guo said.

Her counsel David is in Europe.

She said the last two Senate hearings which she attended left her severely exhausted and traumatized.

“My primary priority now is my health and peace of mind, so that I can properly address all the legal issues directed at me,” Guo maintained. 

The suspended mayor said she does not wish to be used by anyone to boost his or her political ambitions. “Our country faces many critical issues such as national security, poverty, unemployment, food shortage, health care delivery, environmental degradation and human rights violations. I appeal to them to focus their attention on these problems instead of continuously threatening me with arrest and accusing me of being complicit in various Philippine offshore gaming operations-related crimes, which are untrue and unfounded,” she said.

“Am I really the country’s biggest problem that they need to focus on? Or is it just because they are gaining popularity at my expense that they will not leave me alone?” 

Guo assured the public and the senators that she does not pose any threat to them or to