No executive session for Guo

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate committee investigating dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo sees no reason to go into a closed-door executive session amid Guo’s claim that there is a threat to her life.

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada thumbed down Guo’s request for a secret session, saying the public has the right to know her alleged links to organized crime.

“What difference does it make if she discloses in an open session as against a proceeding conducted behind closed doors? Alice Guo testified falsely before us, telling us a tall tale about her circumstances… What assurance that she will be open, truthful and cooperative this time?” Estrada pointed out.

He said the Senate would only allow an executive session if she could provide concrete proof of threats to her life.

He also gave hints that the foreign national Guo revealed to the senators is the one who helped her find a yacht and two small boats she and her alleged siblings Shiela Guo and Wesley Guo used to escape to Malaysia.

He said Guo was referring to her business associate who has five passports and is now hiding in Taiwan.

“I heard he is the boss of all the bosses in illegal offshore gaming operations,” Estrada said.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who chairs the Senate women and children’s committee inquiry, said Guo was unable to prove to the senators that her life was in danger since she was arrested in Indonesia where she went into hiding.

“Our committee has not seen any reason to believe that Guo Hua Ping (Alice Guo) will provide us with factual, valuable and reliable information to convince us to agree to an executive session,” Hontiveros said.

Guo was also unwilling to tell the truth about how she was able to fake her Filipino identity to run for mayor, following biometric tests that showed she faked her birth certificate despite being born in China.

“She refused to admit during the previous hearing that she is a Chinese national. It is insulting that she still insists on being Filipino,” Hontiveros said.

“If she cannot even tell the truth about her identity, why should we believe everything else that comes out of her mouth? She should be truthful first before we allow her an executive