DISMISSED Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo used a backdoor channel, skipping the normal immigration proceedings, in order to leave the Philippines amid the ongoing cases and investigation against her.
Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission spokesperson Winston John Casio bared this in a radio interview Tuesday, August 20, 2024, saying Guo may have left the country through backdoor channels, in which one was in Luzon while the other was in Mindanao.
He said investigation as to how Guo discreetly left the country or who helped her is ongoing.
“Una, kinakailangan na namin mag imbestiga kung paano nakalabas ito ng Pilipinas kasi we have to make people atone dito. Kinakailangan may managot sa pangyayaring ito kasi ito ay una higit sa lahat ‘yung frustration namin lahat na nagtrabaho doon sa kaso kasi alam naman siguro ng taumbayan kung gaano kalaki ‘yung sakripisyo ng iba’t ibang ahensya rito tapos meron lamang isang hindi gagawin ‘yung kanyang trabaho or whateve. Kung ano man konsiderasyon nabigay sa kanya, nakalusot na si Alice Guo,” he said.
(First, we need to investigate how she got out of the Philippines because we have to make people atone here. Someone needs to be held accountable for this incident because it is first and foremost the frustration of all of us who worked on the case because the people probably know how much sacrifice the various agencies here have made and one person will not do his job properly. Whatever consideration was given to him, Alice Guo had already slipped through.)
“Meron pa tayong dalawang legal channels na puwede pong sundan para mapanagot natin ito. Una ‘yung tinatawag nating extradition; titingnan natin kung saan siya lalanding eventually. Kung ‘yung kanyang lugar na pupuntahan ay meron ba tayong extradition treaty. Ngayon kung wala naman, puwede natin i-trigger ‘yung tinatawag nating Interpol red notice. Kapag siya ay nalabasan ng WOA (warrant of arrest), we will apply for the Interpol ‘yung red notice. That is an international arrest warrant. So yun ang dalawang legal avenue natin ngayon,” he added.
(We have two more legal channels that we can follow so that she can be held accountable. First is what we call extradition; we will see where she will land eventually. If it's her place to go, do we have an extradition treaty? Now if there is nothing, we can trigger what we call an Interpol red notice. When she is released from the WOA (warrant of arrest), we will apply for the Interpol red notice. That is an international arrest warrant. So those are our two legal avenues now.)
In a statement, Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said their centralized database has no record of Guo’s departure despite a lookout order issued (Ilbo) against her in July.
In a privilege speech during a Senate session on Monday, August 19, Senator Risa Hontiveros said Guo left the Philippines on the evening of July 17 for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia using her Philippine passport based on information from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Guo then went to Singapore where she met her family, particularly her father Guo Jian Zhong, mother Lin Wen Yi, her brother Wesley Ong and Cassandra Ong, who was earlier named as the authorized representative of the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogo) hub in Porac, Pampanga -- the Lucky South 99.
Tansingco also confirmed that Ong left the Philippines on June 11 before she was issued an Ilbo on August 6.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who is taking part in the investigation, slammed Guo for making a fool out of the institution.
He noted that a notary public signed an affidavit that Guo personally appeared before him in the City of San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan on August 14. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)