SC upholds Senate subpoena on Alice Guo

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the legality of the subpoena issued by a Senate committee against former Bamban mayor Alice Guo at the height of the investigation on Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) activities last year.

In a decision penned by Associate Justice Japar Dimaampao, the SC en banc dismissed Guo’s petition filed in July last year, seeking the nullification of the subpoena issued by the Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality to compel her attendance during hearings.

“(The) SC affirmed that the Senate hearings followed the Constitution and the Senate Rules of Procedure. The SC emphasized that Guo’s rights were not violated and the inquiry was a legitimate exercise of legislative power aimed at protecting public interest and upholding the law,” the SC Office of the Spokesperson said in a statement.

Guo initially attended the committee hearing on May 7, 2024, wherein she was asked about her parents’ occupation, the late registration of her birth, her education and connections to certain people.

The succeeding hearing on May 22 showed the committee revealing her birth certificate, business records and her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) to the public.

Guo skipped the next two hearings, prompting the committee, chaired by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, to order her arrest for contempt.

Her lawyers filed a petition for review before the SC, asking the tribunal to nullify the subpoena and to bar the committee from inviting her again in its hearings, citing violation of her constitutional right to privacy and due process.

However, the SC upheld the Senate and its committees’ authority to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation as provided under Article VI, Section 21 of the Constitution, “as long as they follow the established rules of procedure and respect the rights of persons involved.”

“The SC found that the committee’s investigation into illegal POGO operations in Bamban, Tarlac was within its authority. The questions asked about Guo’s identity, family, relationships, assets and businesses were relevant and necessary to the inquiry,” the SC statement read.

“Guo was invited as a resource person, not as an accused. The subpoena and related actions followed the Senate rules. She was informed of the inquiry’s scope and retained her right against self-incrimination, which she chose not to exercise,” the statement added.

As for Guo’s right to privacy, the SC said “public officials have a limited expectation of privacy when their actions involve official functions or matters of national interest.”

“Documents such as Guo’s birth certificate, SALNs, and business records were essential to the investigation and thus lawfully disclosed, even under the Data Privacy Act of 2012,” the SC said.

Guo is currently detained at the Pasig City Jail for multiple cases of money laundering in connection with her alleged business interests in illegal POGO operations in Bamban.