NBI to take custody of Sheila Guo, Ong

SENATE President Francis Escudero said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will take custody of Sheila Guo, the sister of former Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo. and Cassandra Li Ong, the authorized representative of the raided illegal Pogo hub in Porac, Pampanga.

Sheila and Ong arrived in the country after being deported from Indonesia on Thursday, August 22, 2024.

“We were informed that per guidance from the DOJ (Department of Justice), the NBI shall take custody of both Sheila and Cassandra in order for NBI to file cases against Cassandra and for BI (Bureau of Immigration) to conduct inquest proceedings against Sheila on immigration charges,” Escudero said in a text message to reporters.

“Thereafter, the NBI will debrief them. Only thereafter shall they coordinate with the Senate and the House regarding the warrants issued by both Houses against them,” he added.

Escudero said he instructed Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Roberto Ancan to continue their coordination with the DOJ, NBI, BI, and the Philippine National Police "for an orderly and peaceful procedure given the legal quagmire surrounding the two personalities."

The Guo sisters have a standing arrest order issued by the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, which is currently investigating the raided illegal Pogo hub in Bamban, Tarlac.

Also covered by the order was their father Jian Zhong Guo, their alleged mother Wenyi Lin, and brothers Siemen and Wesley Guo.

The order was issued following their refusal to cooperate in the committee probe on the illegal Pogo hub, to which Mayor Guo is being linked.

The Senate panel also issued a subpoena against Ong and several others.

Ong also has a standing arrest order issued by the House of Representatives amid its investigation of the raided illegal Pogo hub in Porac, Pampanga.

Senator Risa Hontiveros revealed earlier this week that the Guos were no longer in the Philippines.

Sheila and Ong were intercepted in Indonesia. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)