Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo in a Senate hearing in Pasay City on May 22, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said Friday it would investigate Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and her companies.

In a statement, the BIR said its commissioner Romeo Lumagui ordered a probe into the names and companies mentioned in the Senate's investigation on the alleged human trafficking and criminal activities attributed to offshore gaming operations, including those allegedly linked to Guo.

"If the income declared with the BIR does not match the value of the properties amassed during the same taxable years, criminal cases for tax evasion will be filed," Lumagui said.

The commissioner also said the BIR would cooperate with the senate investigation Guo.

The tax bureau said it welcomes all informants, whether from the private sector or government agencies, that could provide the necessary documents and pieces of evidence in auditing Guo and the companies she mentioned.

Guo owns 16 vehicles based on documents gathered by the office of Sen. Risa Hontiveros, chairperson of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality.

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But Guo said these are no longer her assets and were part of the buy-and-sell business of Westcars, of which she is an incorporator.

The mayor said she also has a piggery, meat shop,  farms, and an embroidery business. 

The 37-year-old mayor told the Committee that she was able to venture into different businesses partly through the help of her father who gave her money. 

Bamban Mayor Alice Guo owns 16 vehicles - Hontiveros

Guo’s father has a fabric and embroidery business in China, she said.