📷Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo
IN what appears to be a last ditch effort to save embattled Bamban Mayor Alice Guo, Chinese national Lin Wen Yi flew back to China to avoid being subjected to a DNA test that could have established the nationality of the controversial local chief executive.
According to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, Lin, the Chinese national believed to be Guo’s biological mother has already left the country.
“It is not possible for now, because according to the Bureau of Immigration, Lin Wen Yi and Jian Zhong Guo are no longer in the Philippines. They already flew to another country so we can’t find them here,” Gatchalian was quoted as saying during a radio interview.
With Guo’s “parents” already gone, Gatchalian lamented that all they could do is hope for their return.
“First of all, these two are Chinese nationals so they can really go back to China anytime and opt not to return here. If that happens, we no longer have a chance to prove that these two are Mayor Alice’s parents … for now Lin Wen Yi is no longer in the country so it would be difficult for us to demand a DNA test,” he added.
Gatchalian and fellow Sen. Risa Hontiveros earlier sought for a DNA test for Guo and Lin to determine the relation their blood ties amid the mayor’s questionable citizenship.
The mayor has repeatedly insisted that she’s a Filipino citizen since she was born out of wedlock by Amelia Leal whom she claimed worked as housemaid for his his dad Jian Zhang Guo alias Angelito Guo who then lived in Valenzuela City.
“It will help us determine who Mayor Alice is and her nationality. If the DNA test proves that Lin is Guo’s mother, then the mayor is Chinese, as both her real parents are Chinese,” Gatchalian further averred.
Gatchalian, who hails from Valenzuela City, also did some research from where local folks attested that Lin was referred to by then a young as her mom.
Hontiveros also released documents to the media to prove Guo’s alleged ties to Lin, including documents showing the latter was among the former’s co-incorporators in several businesses.
Amid a congressional investigation, Gatchalian hinted at the need for drastic reforms in the country’s birth certificate system, which he claimed as being abused by foreign nationals wanting to buy properties in the Philippines.
He also stressed the importance of the determining the mayor’s citizenship which he said could check on the veracity of the birth certificate she has presented.
“It’s now a basic document used to apply for passport, employment record, buy land, and even file a certificate of candidacy,” he said.
“I believe Mayor Alice, since she’s very active, can run for congressman, a governor, or even higher even if her birth certificate is defective and irregular,” Gatchalian went on.
Guo gained prominence amid multiple problems zooming in on her links to Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) based in Bamban, Tarlac, which was raided in March for alleged human trafficking, among others.
Guo is also being suspected as a spy working for the Chinese Communist Party.
The Senate is set to hold an executive session or a private hearing on June 5 to tackle more sensitive information about Guo. (ANGEL F. JOSE)
