Sen. Risa Hontiveros and Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo. ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA (2nd UPDATE) — Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo will skip the next Senate hearing into her alleged ties to unlicensed Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, her legal team said Tuesday, as Senate President Chiz Escudero warned of a possible arrest warrant against her. 

Guo's lawyer Stephen David said the mayor would not attend the July 10 hearing and would instead send an excuse letter to the Senate. 

"'Di siya maka-attend. Traumatized siya sa Senate treatment sa kanya," David said. "Plus, emotionally and physically drained siya sa dami ng accusations sa kaniya."

[She won't be able to attend. She is traumatized from the way she was treated in the Senate, plus she is emotionally and physically drained from all the accusations against her.]

But Sen. Risa Hontiveros reminded Guo of her obligation to "respect Philippine laws". 

• Alice Guo may skip Senate probe due to 'trauma, stress': lawyer

"Obligasyon ni 'Alice Guo' at ng kanyang mga abugado na respetuhin ang batas ng Pilipinas," Hontiveros said, an apparent shot at Guo's questionable identity and of questions on her citizenship.

(It is the obligation of 'Alice Guo' and her lawyers to respect the laws of the Philippines.)

Hontiveros refuted Guo camp's alleged reasoning that they were averting "self-incrimination" by skipping the next hearing.

"Our jurisprudence is clear and consistent. The Supreme Court has recognized that the invocation of the right against self-incrimination can only be done when a question is being asked. Hindi ito dahilan para hindi siya dumalo sa hearing (It's not an excuse to not attend the hearing)," she said.

• POGO Paradise: How the Philippines became a hub for illegal POGOs

"Gasgas na ito na palusot ng mga umiiwas sa imbestigasyon," Hontiveros added.

(That alibi has been used over and over again to escape investigations.)

ARREST WARRANT 

Senate President Francis Escudero on Tuesday backed Hontiveros, saying that Guo is obliged to follow a Senate subpoena. Escudero also said that he would sign an arrest warrant for Guo at the request of Hontiveros, should the suspended Bamban mayor fail to attend another Senate hearing.

"Kapag ka nag-isyu ng subpoena, ang husgado man, ang Senado, ang Kongreso, obligado ang testigo na sundin at sundan ito. So hindi ako kumakatig sa kaniyang sagot o sagot ng abugado niya na desisyon nila 'yan at call nila 'yan," said Escudero.

"At kung hindi sila dadalo, nasa kamay ni Senator Risa kung siya ay magre-request kung ma-issue ng warrant of arrest para sila ay pwersahang padaluhin sa pagdinig ng Senado at pipirmahan ko ang warrant of arrest na 'yon kapag ni-request ni Senator Risa," he added.

If Guo will use her mental or physical health as an excuse for her absence, then she is required to send a medical certificate, according to Escudero. The Senate is also ready to send its doctor to the embattled mayor to check on her. 

Asked if Guo would be detained in the Senate if an arrest warrant was served, Escudero said: "[The subpoena is] just to compel the attendance in the hearing."

"Ang mangyayari niyan, as soon as maaresto siya … mag-i-schedule agad ng hearing. Pero hindi naman agad-agad, baka ilang araw bago ma-scheduling ang hearing," he added. "So habang ini-schedule ang hearing, siya ay magiging under detention muna."

Asked what will happen if the Senate comes out with a warrant for Guo's arrest, David said: "Risk niya 'yun. [That's her risk]."

Some officials have been urging Guo to admit her alleged wrongdoings and identify the masterminds and protectors of illegal POGOs, even floating the possibility of her becoming a "state witness", a status that is often only granted to those who are the "least guilty" in a case.

The Senate has so far conducted three public hearings and an executive session to investigate the controversial mayor.

Major developments on the case have also taken place since the Senate's last hearing on June 26, which Guo did not attend, citing her health.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has found that Guo and Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, who supposedly entered the Philippines in 2003, have matching fingerprints.

• NBI findings on Guo prove 'fake Filipino' ran for office, says senator

Guo has been put on preventive suspension by the Ombudsman, while the Office of the Solicitor General is preparing to file a quo warranto case to unseat her.

• Deportation, jail time or plea deal: What happens next to 'Chinese' mayor Alice Guo?

Guo has insisted that she is a Filipino. She denied that she is a Chinese spy or that she is linked to illegal POGOs in a compound in Bamban that she said divested from before entering public service. 

RELATED VIDEO: