Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo in a Senate hearing in Pasay City on May 22, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA -- Are there two Alice Leal Guos? Or is this a case of stolen identity? 

This was the question raised during the resumption of the Senate hearing on Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and her possible connection to illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs). 

During her opening statement, Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality Chairman Senator Risa Hontiveros said they obtained a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance showing a certain Alice Leal Guo who has the same birthday as the Mayor—July 12, 1986—but does not look like the suspended official. 

“Is this a case of stolen identity? Has Guo Hua Ping assumed the identity of a Filipino woman and then nearly a decade later, ran for public office?” Hontiveros asked.

“Sino po ang babaeng ito na may pangalang Alice Leal Guo pero hindi kamukha ni Mayor? Nasaan na po siya ngayon?” she added. 

(Who is this woman who has the name Alice Leal Guo but does not look like the Mayor? Where is she now?) 

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Guo Hua Ping is a Chinese national whom some Senators and authorities allege is the real identity of Mayor Guo. 

According to NBI Regional Director Jerry Abiera, that there are two Alice Leal Guos in their database does not mean there is a problem with their system. 

In order to find out the truth, Abiera suggested examining the fingerprints of the two. 

“Ang mas maganda ma-determine natin dahil yung fingerprint magkaiba talaga ‘yan. Para ma-determine natin whether or not ‘yung tao na yan or si Mayor ay magkaiba,” Abiera said.

(Fingerprints are different so it would be good to determine that, to know if that person and the Mayor are the same). 

NBI record of Alice Leal Guo. Handout/Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality

Mayor Guo was a no-show in the hearing. According to her lawyer, Atty. Stephen David, she is ill and stressed. 

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In a letter sent to the Committee, Guo said she is not fit to be a resource person, the accusations against her have adversely affected and caused serious impact on her physical and mental health, and she has been exposed to public ridicule, humiliation and hatred which tarnished her public image, character and reputation. 

The Committee did not accept her reasoning and ordered her to be subpoenaed along with her family and other resource persons who did not attend such as Dennis Cunanan, the authorized representative of Hong Sheng Gaming Technology, the illegal POGO in Bamban. Cunanan was the former head of the Technology Resource Center convicted of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam. 

Hontiveros warned that if Guo does not come to the next hearing, she will be cited in contempt.  

MONEY LAUNDERING, BIRTH CERTIFICATE 

According to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) which is conducting a separate investigation on Guo, they found out that she wrote different versions of the name of her mother in her bank applications. 

These are allegedly the names Winnie Leal, Wennie Leal Lin, Wen Yi Lin Leal, Winnie C. Leal, Amelia Lim Leal and Amelia Leal, according to Atty. Emmett Manantan, Director of AMLC. 

Wen Yi Lin is the supposed romantic partner and business partner of Guo’s father. 

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), on the other hand, who is investigating possible irregularities in the registration of Guo’s birth said it has already endorsed to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) the cancellation of her certificate of live birth. 

For Department of Justice (DOJ) Undersecretary Nicholas Ty, Chair of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), the cancellation of live birth may be additional evidence for the Quo Warranto petition that may be filed against Guo by the OSG. 

“If Quo Warranto succeeds, she is stripped of her Filipino citizenship,” Ty said. 

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FAKE INCORPORATOR? 

Also in attendance during the hearing was Merlie Joy Castro, an alleged incorporator of Hong Sheng.

She denied knowing anything about Hong Sheng and said she found out about it after receiving the invitation letter for the May 7 Senate hearing, and finding out that she has been charged before the DOJ. 

“Wala akong kakayahan para magtayo ng corporation,” Castro said. 

(I don’t have any capability to put up a corporation.) 

Upon checking, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said the TIN number used for Castro in the application of Hong Sheng with the Securities and Exchange Commission does not belong to any individual. 

According to Castro, the other supposed incorporators Thelma Laranan, Rowena Evangelista and Rita Yturralde are vendors in Concepcion, Tarlac. 

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“Dapat mapatunayan nila ‘yan at hopefully ma-convince ang prosecutor,” Ty said. 

(They should be able to prove that and hopefully, convince the prosecutor.) 

Because of Castro’s case, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian once again questioned the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) which issues licenses to POGOs. 

He said if PAGCOR has a probity check, an inspection on the incorporators of a certain POGO should have been done and people like Castro would not have been dragged in the issue. 

PAGCOR Assistant Vice President Atty. Jessa Fernandez said this is one of the issues that are currently addressing and the agency is already inspecting the addresses of incorporators.

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Meanwhile, the owners of a house listed under the NBI Clearance of an Alice Leal Guo in Quezon City have denied knowing anyone with that name.

They say that they have lived in the house for decades, and have never heard or met anybody named Alice Guo. 

The owners say there was a rental space on the property, but denied ever having tenants of that name. 

“Ako ang magbibigay ng kontrata. Simula ng nagpapa-upa ako wala akong na encounter na alice Guo. Dito ako pinaanganak noong 1962 . Pinanganak ako dito, 'yung mother ko dito niligawan ng father ko," the male owner who refused to be identified said. 

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The owners also reminded authorities to double check the addresses before approving any clearance. 

“Mas mabuti na mag check sila, check nila ng maayos. Halo-halo sa address. Ito Project 4, not Project 8. Bigla lang pupuntahan ng NBI. Iniisip ko under surveillance ba kami after 2 weeks. Kasi parang tukoy na tukoy pero maling mali ito," the owner said. -- With a report from Zyann Ambrosio, ABS-CBN News