Escudero said in a statement, "I do not believe Alice Guo's claim that no other Filipinos helped her. I think there were others, possibly government officials rather than immigration officers, who assisted her."
"However, the non-Filipinos who helped her escape should also be held accountable, including those she mentioned," he said.
He stated that even if the foreigners are currently not in the Philippines, as Guo claimed, this should not stop the Philippine government from "making efforts to pursue them."
Regarding Guo's claim of being threatened, Escudero said he is inclined to believe it, but noted "it will depend on the extent of her disclosures and whether she will tell the whole truth."
At the last public hearing of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, Guo refused to reveal their helpers and requested a closed session to provide more details.
However, the committee refused her request due to Guo being accused of providing "false and evasive" testimony, thus showing contempt for her.
'Guo should be honest'
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Deputy Leader Risa Hontiveros stated that Guo's request for a closed session would only be considered if she answers questions honestly at the next hearing.
In another statement, the chair of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality said they have yet to see any reason to believe that Guo will provide "factual, effective, and reliable information" to the committee, thus approving her request.
Hontiveros said, "She should be honest at the next hearing, and we might believe she will be honest in a closed session as well."
She noted that despite overwhelming evidence, Guo still insists she is a Filipino born in China.
Hontiveros said, "Her insistence that she is Filipino is insulting. If she can't even be truthful about her own identity, why should we believe anything else she says?" she added.
At the hearing on Monday (September 9), Guo insisted her name was Alice Guo and never called herself Alice Guo Hua Ping.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) earlier confirmed that the fingerprints of the dismissed mayor of Banban and Chinese passport holder Alice Guo Hua Ping were the same.
