Guo cited in contempt, detained by House panel

The House quad committee yesterday cited in contempt dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo for making a fool out of the lawmakers when she told them that no Filipino public official helped her escape.

- DELON PORCALLA

Presiding officer Rep. Robert Ace Barbers granted the motion of Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano, who also moved that Guo be detained at the House until the panel submits its final report to the plenary, which may last until the end of the 19th Congress next year.

Guo insisted to congressmen that there is "no Filipino public official" who facilitated her escape, saying it was just "one foreigner." She had promised to tell all if her request for an executive session would be granted.

“There is no Philippine National Police (PNP) official, no Filipino. There is only one foreigner,” she said.

But the legislators thumbed this down, all of them finding it incredible that there was no public official involved.

Guo was apprehended in Indonesia in early September despite the absence of records from the Bureau of Immigration, an indication she left the country through the backdoor.

Legitimate?

Meanwhile, Guo repeatedly refused to answer lawmakers regarding her purported local farming business, even the simplest of questions about operating a legitimate enterprise.