HOW’S THIS FOR PROOF? Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac, posted this and another photo with President Marcos on social media on Thursday, apparently to refute his statement that “no one knows her” in local political circles.
MANILA, Philippines — Hours after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. cast doubt on her identity, claiming ignorance about her in local politics, Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac, used social media to respond.
She shared photos of herself alongside prominent politicians, including Marcos.
Guo on Thursday afternoon posted two photos of herself and President Marcos that were taken during the President’s inspection of the Airport to New Clark City access road on Feb. 20, where apparently she was one of the guests.
She uploaded the photos some 20 minutes after Malacañang released a transcript of the president’s interview in Cagayan de Oro City earlier that day, in which Marcos said he and other politicians, particularly in Tarlac, did not know Guo at all before her election as mayor.
READ: Marcos on Mayor Guo: ‘No one knows her’
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There was no immediate comment from Malacañang regarding Guo’s posts.
A check of her official Facebook page showed that on March 8, 2022, she also met Marcos — then a presidential candidate — after his proclamation rally.
A photo of that encounter showed both of them in red shirts and wearing face masks. Another photo captured them doing a fist bump.
She also uploaded a photo of herself doing a fist bump and exchanging high-fives with Speaker Martin Romualdez, the President’s cousin.
The photos were apparently part of an effort to counter mounting suspicions about her true identity and allegations that she was a Chinese spy who had infiltrated Philippine politics.
Senate grilling
First to question her credibility was Sen. Risa Hontiveros during a recent Senate hearing about an online gambling hub in her town that was raided in March for alleged human trafficking. More than 160 Chinese nationals rounded up in the raid were later deported.
Guo’s answers when grilled about her personal circumstances “led to more questions,” according to Hontiveros, who said the mayor might actually be a trained Chinese “asset.”
Guo then said she was being subjected to trial by publicity and was being prejudged based on “made-up stories.”
The Office of the Solicitor General on Tuesday announced the creation of a special team that would look into the allegations against Guo and check if she indeed had the right to hold public office in the country. Gibo doesn’t know her, too
On Friday, another ranking government official — this time from Tarlac province — appeared to bolster Marcos’ statement.
Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. said he had never come across the Bamban town mayor.
“I don’t know Guo,” said Teodoro, who once served as a congressman representing the province.
Speaking to reporters at the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio City, Teodoro said the allegations against Guo had caught the attention of the President and was now the subject of parallel investigations by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force and the Solicitor General. —WITH A REPORT FROM VICENT CABREZA