Senator Risa Hontiveros, who leads the Senate investigation, stated that Guo Huaping must tell the public the truth before they agree to her request for a closed-door meeting with the senators.
Hontiveros said: "Our committee sees no reason to believe that Guo Huaping would provide us with truthful, valuable, and reliable information to convince us to agree to an executive session."
The chair of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, who is investigating Guo Huaping and her alleged online gambling ties, noted that despite evidence presented to her, the ousted president "cannot even admit she is a Chinese citizen, born in China."
Hontiveros added: "If she can't even tell the truth about her own identity, why should we believe anything else that comes out of her mouth? She should come clean in the next hearing. If she knows, we might believe she would tell the truth in a closed session."
Senate Deputy Speaker Jinggoy Estrada echoed the same stance, stating that Ms. Guo has not given them "any compelling reason, especially on matters involving national security, to grant her an executive session."
Estrada said: "If she reveals nothing, how can we agree to her request? What can we get from her now that she wants an executive session?"
He continued: "What's the difference between disclosing in a public session and a closed session? Guo Huaping has given false testimony before us, and lied about her situation and almost all the questions we asked her in the previous Senate hearings. Can you guarantee she will be open, honest, and cooperative this time?"
For Estrada, only if Ms. Guo provides specific evidence that her life is threatened, he would be persuaded to conduct a closed session.
He said: "Allowing a closed session could undermine the transparency of the Senate investigation and the principle of public accountability, potentially fostering a sense of secrecy, and worse, could weaken public trust in the investigative process."
Estrada said: "Guo Huaping was once a public servant, and she still owes the public the truth behind her escape, the truth behind her so-called misconduct."
He added, "The public has the right to know about the thieves in government, and those who collude with her and help her evade the ongoing investigation."
In an impromptu interview, Senator Joel Villanueva stated that Guo Huaping must convince the Senate that she will reveal valuable information that will aid the Senate's investigation into online gambling.
He said: "They must convince us... I have to be convinced that the information she will share is substantial."
Guo Huaping's legal advisor, Stephen Tam, said that the senators could get "all the information they want" from the ousted president in a closed session.
