Imprisoning the Guo Family Sets a Dangerous Precedent
Senate overreach and what's in store
Four days ago as of writing, the Senate ordered the arrest of Alice Guo and seven others. That first name needs no introduction. The drama around her has gripped the country at large for days on end.
These seven others, however, include her mother and sisters, among others.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, said the eight were also ordered to appear before her committee on July 29.
This writer finds it ironic that the chair of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality would turn against her nominal mission in a heartbeat for some greater good.
Knowing how strong clan ties are among the Hoklo people of Fujian, I have no doubt that family ties are helping her right now, and that her lawyer’s surrender feelers are merely a delaying tactic.
Yet the most important takeaway from this news is how far the Senate is willing to go just to catch whom they deem an enemy. An entire family held under detention and prosecution—where have we seen this before?
The Senate would imprison an entire family for administrative and clerical crimes on top of misdeeds pinned on one person. When the Philippine government tightens its grip on society, how many more families will face this fate? Who else will the government deem so much a danger that it will imprison all he knows?
POGOs are not even beneficial to the People’s Republic of China. Xi Jinping told Duterte to shut them down. Duterte quite (in)famously refused, citing economic revenues and job creation.
ast week, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang has welcomed the Philippine government’s move to suspend issuing new online gambling licenses and stated that China hopes the Philippines will “ban all online gambling”. All forms of gambling in China are illegal.
“They can’t dictate on us. That’s our sovereign decision. That is where we stand,” Sta. Romana said.
Online gaming in the Philippines is legal. The concept of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) industry has attracted Chinese investors to put up their online gaming businesses in the Philippines.
Sta. Romana said banning online gaming will have an economic impact in the Philippines.
On that note, claims that Duterte was a Chinese puppet who wanted independence from the United States have been proven false. He allowed the new opium to China to continue. Meanwhile, POGO activities in the Philippines have only spread hatred and ignorance of China among Filipinos. The United States was the sole beneficiary of Duterte’s moves.
The Senate has shown that they will abuse the monopoly of violence all to show their virility. Meanwhile, elite Navy SEALs couldn’t even win a melee against what amount to celebrity Chinese sea police.
The Kapampangans and other ethnic groups should take note. The government will do anything, even arrest entire families, just to show how strong it is. It is a toy dog that barks loud and bites annoyingly.
