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Manila [Philippines], September 10: Former Philippine mayor Alice Guo, suspected of being a Chinese citizen, has spoken out about allegations of paying a 'huge' bribe to flee the country.
Former mayor Alice Guo insists that no Philippine official helped her flee the country in July, while also responding to allegations that she paid a huge bribe to escape.
"No Filipino helped me escape," she said during a Senate hearing on September 9. The former mayor of Bamban town (Tarlac province) fled to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia before being arrested and brought back to the Philippines.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, who chaired the hearing, questioned Ms. Guo about allegations that she bribed a government official with 200 million pesos (87 billion VND) to help her flee the country.
Ms Guo denied this, saying that an Asian foreigner had helped arrange the boat for her, her sister and brother. However, she refused to provide further details, citing death threats, although lawmakers doubted this.
"She did not flee the Philippines because of death threats, she fled the Philippines because she was trying to avoid her case," said Senator Joel Villanueva.
The Senate has been investigating Ms. Guo since May, after authorities alleged she had ties to a now-defunct online casino, or Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO), that catered to foreign customers mostly Chinese.
The POGO center, which is accused of being a front for scams and other criminal activities, was built on land partly owned by Guo in Tarlac province, 108km north of Manila.
Ms Guo has also been questioned about her Chinese citizenship, after senators questioned her in May whether she was actually born and raised in the Philippines.
Ms. Guo ran as a Filipino citizen , but her fingerprints were later found to match those of a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping.
She is currently facing a court-ordered arrest for corruption and is being investigated for human trafficking, tax fraud and money laundering involving criminal proceeds totaling 100 million pesos. She was stripped of her mayorship in August.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper