MANILA, Philippines – Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla just isn’t buying the revelations of Shiela Guo, the purported sister of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo.
“Hindi ako naniniwala kay Shiela eh, kay Shiela Guo. Hindi ako naniniwala sa kanyang mga sinasabi. Puro I don’t know tapos puro malalabo ang sagot,” Remulla said in an interview Wednesday.
Shiela made her narrations at the Senate Justice subcommittee hearing Tuesday, an investigation aimed at pinning down exactly how the Guo family exited the Philippines sans Immigration detection.
According to Shiela, the former mayor sought for her company to join her in a travel because she was sad.
Shiela said she yielded to her sister’s wish right away and went off without any knowledge where they were headed or how they will get there.
In her narration, Shiela said she, Guo and their brother Wesley boarded a series of boat rides on their way to Malaysia.
But this story doesn’t pass to the justice secretary.
“Unang-una hindi ako naniniwala si Alice Guo sasakay ng fishing boat ng tatlong araw para makarating sa Sabbah. Sanay sa lifestyle na maganda yun eh. Marahil mahirap paniwalaan,” Remulla said.
Remulla first questioned the probability of their transport.
Shiela said a van fetched them from their farm in Bamban, traveled about five hours to a seaport, boarded a small white boat, transferred to a “fishing boat,” then to another small boat until they reached Malaysia.
The National Bureau of Investigation’s theory was that they exited through Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, a route usually used by individuals fleeing the country illegally, also known as the backdoor. Using the route only takes a few hours to reach Sabah, Malaysia.
“Kung ‘yan ay nanggaling ng Bongao o Zamboanga o Tawi-tawi, maari pa, pero para ito ay manggaling ng Zambales isang libo tatlong daang kilometro mula sa Kota Kinabalu ay sobra namang galing nilang sumakay sila parang sine, fishing boat pa,” Remulla said.
Given Guo’s lifestyle, Remulla doubts the former mayor would resort to such stress.
“Saan ka matutulog sa fishing boat? Tatlong araw kang sasakay don? Eh napaka sungit ng dagat kaya ba nila yon? Diba sobrang hirap naman non kaya hindi ako naniniwala sa kanyang mga sinabi,” he said.
Not a reliable witness
Remulla is far from being convinced that Shiela could become a state witness against her sister because of the loopholes in her statements. The justice secretary does not believe many of it especially her unfamiliarity with places in the country considering she has been here since 2001.
“Hindi reliable eh, yung reliability nung kaniyang mga sinasabi ‘yung problema natin hindi siya reliable witness so far kailangan talaga patunayan na kailangang kailangan ‘yung kanyang testimonya upang mangyari ang lahat,” he said.
However there were some answers of Shiela he is amenable to dismiss as truth. Among them is her statement that she and Guo are not related by blood but this should still be proven by a DNA test, he said.
Shiela tries to stray the hearing
Remulla also entertains the possibility that Shiela might be straying the directions of the hearing. Noticeably, she gave vague answers on some questions, especially on places in the country.
“Parang ganon nga eh. [She’s changing the direction of the hearing] ‘Yung marami siyang hindi ko alam hindi ko alam eh parang hindi ako makapaniwalang hindi niya alam kasi matagal na siya sa Pilipinas nakakabasa naman siya ng road sign kung nasaan sila,” he said.
Long practice of the legal profession, Remulla said predisposed him to take things with a grain of salt.
“Out of experience ‘yan na hindi tayo pwedeng maniwala sa lahat ng kanyang sinasabi,” he said.
DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty believes otherwise.
“I don’t want to get ahead of such a thing but she is qualified because if you think of it, she’s not the mastermind of all these illegal things,” Ty said.
