By Brian Jules Campued
Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday rebuked suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo for being more active on social media rather than attending the Senate probe as she also refuted Guo’s latest statement questioning the senators’ fixation on her rather than focusing on other “critical issues”.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Hontiveros reminded the embattled mayor that “attendance before the Senate hearings is adherence to the rule of law” and she has to answer the allegations thrown against her.
“Kung nakakalimutan mo, pinapatawag ka dahil nasa gitna ka ng pang-aabuso ng POGO sa mga batas natin, na hinayaan mong lumawak dahil sa impluwensiya mo bilang Mayor,” the senator said.
“Nagsinungaling ka tungkol sa koneksiyon mo sa POGO, nagsinungaling ka tungkol sa pagkatao mo, at kada log-in mo sa Facebook, may bago ka na namang iniimbento,” she added.
The lawmaker was referring to Guo’s remarks asking why Hontiveros and Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian continue to “threaten” her with arrest due to her alleged connections to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO)-related crimes instead of tackling other national issues.
“Am I really the country’s biggest problem that they need to focus on? Or they just want to project me as the antagonist/villain?” the mayor said in a statement.
Guo said she believes in the “rule of law” as she also denied her involvement in the death threats against Gatchalian. However, she also explained that her absence in the recent Senate hearings was due to “severe exhaustion and trauma.”
Meanwhile, Hontiveros criticized the mayor after stating that her priorities are health and peace of mind.
“Paano ka magkakaroon ng peace of mind kung palagi ka na lang iiwas sa mga tanong?” the senator asked.
“Huwag kayong mag-alala, hindi kami fixated sa ’yo. Allergic lang kami sa mga sinungaling,” she continued.
Guo is being investigated in the upper chamber in connection with the raided POGO in Bamban, which also made the senators question her identity and nationality.
Hontiveros, who chairs the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, has also ordered Guo’s arrest for failing to attend the Senate probe. – iro
