Risa Hontiveros warns public vs edited photos with Alice Guo: 'Wala akong kaibigan na pekeng Pilipino'
Sen. Risa Hontiveros warned the public about the edited photos showing her with dismissed mayor Alice Guo as well as a false post alleging that she helped the latter escape the Philippines amid the Senate probe on POGO hubs in Bamban.
“Wala akong kaibigan na pekeng Pilipino,” Hontiveros wrote in a Facebook post on Friday, Aug. 23, sharing a screenshot of an X post that she dismissed as "fake."
“Mag-ingat po sa mga edited photos online na magkasama kami diumano at magkaibigan daw kami. THIS IS FAKE,” she stressed.
In a now-deleted post, a certain Ryan Lingo insinuated that the senator was the one who helped Guo exit the country amid the ongoing investigation on her alleged involvement with POGO in Bamban. The post also included two edited photos of Hontiveros and Guo, making it appear that they have close ties.
Hontiveros also called the attention of major social media platforms Facebook, X, YouTube, and TikTok to help moderate AI content. “We will get to the bottom of who is circulating this,” she added.
Following this, the X user who made the post apologized to the senator for spreading false information about her.
“I want to apologize for sharing AI photos with you, A. Guo. I already took down my tweet and promised to do my due diligence when it comes to posting on my X account,” Lingo wrote.
“I hate you. I don't like you. But still, I want to apologize for my mistake. Thank you,” he added.
Last Aug. 19, Hontiveros wrote a bombshell post on Facebook stating that Guo left the Philippines on the night of July 17 and arrived in Malaysia on July 18. But Guo's lawyer Stephen David said his client is still in the country. The National Bureau of Investigation, meanwhile, said Guo is in Indonesia as of Aug. 20.
Guo has been subject to scrutiny since she was allegedly linked to two POGOs in her bailiwick: Hongsheng Gaming Technology Incorporated, which was raided in February 2023, and Zun Yuan Technology Incorporated, which was raided in March this year.
She was questioned as to why she was supposedly unaware of such alleged illegal activities. In past Senate hearings, she was also asked about her background to confirm her nationality, especially since she currently holds a high post in the local government.
Guo has since maintained that she's Filipino and has denied having ties to POGOs in Bamban and being a Chinese spy. She claims that she was raised on the farm of her father, was homeschooled, and that her maid of a mother left her.
But as weeks passed, authorities discovered discrepancies in several documents involving Guo, as well as holes in her stories.
In July, the Senate issued arrest orders against Guo and seven others for skipping recent hearings on the raided POGO hubs in their place.
She’s also facing other complaints in line with alleged tax evasion and human trafficking.