'Sick, stressed' Guo no-show at POGO hearing

Embattled Bamban Mayor Alice Guo snubbed yesterday the Senate committee hearing digging deeper into her background and suspected links with offshore gaming operators.

- MARC JAYSON CAYABYAB

In her letter to the committee chaired by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Guo said she skipped the probe because her attendance at the previous hearings caused her "prolonged stress and high level of anxiety" due to the "malicious accusations thrown against me ... (that) caused serious impact on my physical and mental health."

"I have been exposed to public ridicule, humiliation and hatred for several months now, tarnishing my public image, character and reputation," the suspended town mayor from Tarlac said.

"Unfortunately, I have already been prejudged guilty by the public despite the absence of any finding by the courts of law and proper tribunals," she added.

Hontiveros said the mayor's excuse is not acceptable, as the senator issued a subpoena on Guo to appear at the next hearing or face a contempt citation.

"The non-appearance of Mayor Alice Guo is a disregard of the invitation of the committee. Even though there are ongoing investigations against her, that is not a reason for her not to appear here," Hontiveros said of Guo, who faces a human trafficking complaint for her alleged involvement in a raided Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) facility in Tarlac.

Senators yesterday zeroed in on the existence of two Alice Leal Guos in National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) records: the suspended mayor herself and a Quezon City resident, who coincidentally shared the same birthday and birthplace.