Suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo might choose not to attend the Senate probe on illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) on Wednesday, July 10.
Guo's lawyer, Atty. Stephen David, claimed Guo is suffering from trauma and stress after having been subject to scrutiny, and the various accusations and cases she faces.
“Baka di niya kaya mag-attend,” David said in a message.
("She may not be able to attend.")
Senator Risa Hontiveros, Chair of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, warned that failure to respond to a supoena may be punished with an arrest, adding that the mayor should not invoke mental health reasons to shirk accountability as a public servant.
"If she doesn’t honor the subpoena, the Senate is well within its rights to issue an arrest order. Dumalo na lang siya sa hearing sa Miyerkoles para wala nang drama (She should just attend the hearing on Wednesday so there won't be drama)," Hontiveros said.
"Mental health is important but she cannot invoke it to escape accountability, lalo na na public servant siya (especially because she is a public servant). She dug her own grave. We merely asked basic questions that any upright human being could answer. Ngayong na wala na siyang lusot, nagpapa-victim siya (Now that she has nowhere to run, she is playing the victim)."
