• 5 months ago
Unang Balita is the news segment of GMA Network's daily morning program, Unang Hirit. It's anchored by Arnold Clavio, Susan Enriquez, Ivan Mayrina, and Mariz Umali, and airs on GMA-7 Mondays to Fridays at 5:30 AM (PHL Time). For more videos from Unang Balita, visit http://www.gmanetwork.com/unangbalita.

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Transcript
00:00Suspended Bamban Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo could be arrested if she will not attend the Senate hearing today.
00:06As part of the hearings, Pogo was raided in Porac, Pampanga, which is also connected to Guo based on the documents obtained by the authorities in the opened vaults.
00:17Here is the first news of Ma'am Gonzales.
00:21If she will not attend the Senate hearing, it is possible that Bamban Mayor Alice Guo will be arrested.
00:29Senate President Cheese Escudero insisted that a resource person is obligated to follow if there is a subpoena, whether from Congress or the court.
00:36The Senate Committee on Women and Children subpoenaed Guo and her relatives.
00:41If they will not attend, it is up to Senator Riza to request for a warrant of arrest to force them to attend the Senate hearing.
00:52And I will sign that warrant of arrest.
00:55But just now, Guo sent an excuse letter.
00:58One of the reasons why she will not attend is that her physical and mental health deteriorated.
01:05Guo also said that she consulted doctors but they refused to issue a medical certificate out of fear of embarrassment.
01:12She asked for a dispensary and she has no intention of wasting the committee.
01:16According to Guo's lawyer, her client is still in the Philippines.
01:21Escudero said that the Senate can send Guo's doctor to check on her health.
01:26According to Escudero, the reason why Guo will not attend the hearing is because she can use what she will say against him.
01:37They have the right to file a petition for certiorari but in the first decisions of the Supreme Court, this is what the Supreme Court said.
01:45It is true that there is a right against self-incrimination of any witness who will appear in the Senate or Congress.
01:51But that right should be invoked when someone is asked to incriminate her.
01:59And there should be no reason for her not to attend the hearing.
02:03Senate Committee on Women and Children Chairperson Senator Risa Contiveros added that the petition for certiorari of those who are avoiding the investigation is now valid.
02:12It is a duty of Guo and her lawyers to respect the law of the Philippines.
02:17If Guo wants to clear her name, she should show up at the hearing, answer properly, and stop lying.
02:24Raid of Pogo Hub in Porac, Pampanga was also investigated.
02:28According to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, even though Guo appears to be connected.
02:33We can see the documents connecting suspended Mayor Alice Guo in the operation of Porac Illegal Pogo Hub.
02:44Sometimes it's her, sometimes it's her brother.
02:52In the leisure park in Clark Freeport in Pampanga,
02:55including receipts and documents of the company and incorporators,
02:59were recovered by Guo after she opened the money vault.
03:03Two Taiwanese passports of Chinese fugitive Wang Zhiyang, business partner of Guo, were also recovered.
03:09She also photocopied other passports from four countries and a special resident retiree's visa.
03:15According to PAOC, since 2012, Wang has been able to enter the Philippines and stay in the country for a longer period of time.
03:23The travel pass of Wang was also part of the investigation during the pandemic initiated by former Bamban Mayor Antonio Feliciano.
03:30We are still trying to get a hold of Guo and Feliciano.
03:34In the middle of the Pogo issues,
03:36the Secretary-General, Arsenio Balisaca, said that Pogo can be completely banned.
03:41This is even before the PADCOR said that Pogo may lose up to P20 billion if the operation is stopped.
03:49It may be a big number, but the cost, particularly social cost of Pogos are quite high.
04:00Also, we are trying to position our country as a legitimate place for business.
04:07We are trying to attract investors to come, tourists to come,
04:14and so the least that we want is to have a reputation that criminals are here.
04:23Balisaca hasn't talked to the Cabinet yet,
04:27but in the event that Pogo is banned, it is possible that it will be recovered in other ways.
04:33If we expand the businesses, then we generate more revenues from income taxes, corporate taxes, from all kinds of...
04:43If we import some equipment, we also derive tariff revenues there.
04:51So if you put all these together, they should be more than what you lost in the Pogo.
04:59The Finance Secretary, Ralph Lecto, also said that he will recommend to the President the banning of Pogo.
05:05The Department of Labor and Employment is preparing to welcome more than 22,000 Pogo workers who may lose their jobs.
05:15This is the first news.
05:17Mav Gonzales for GMA Integrated News.

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