Guo in Indonesia; Palace orders passport canceled
Credit to Author: Helen Flores| Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0800
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Tuesday ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Justice to cancel the Philippine passports of dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo and those of her siblings.
In a memorandum dated Aug. 20 addressed to Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin directed the two agencies to take “appropriate action” to cancel the passports of Guo and her siblings Wesley Leal Guo and Sheila Leal Guo.
The memo also covers Katherine Cassandra Li Ong, the authorized representative of the Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) raided in Porac, Pampanga.
“Given the foregoing and in the interest of justice, the Office hereby directs the appropriate action be taken for the cancellation of the Philippine passports of Guo, her family and Ong,” Bersamin said.
Bersamin also chairs the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).
His order came after Sen. Risa Hontiveros bared on Monday that Guo, also identified as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, had already left the country using her Philippine passport.
According to reports, the 33-year-old Guo left the Philippines and entered Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 18. She then flew, along with her siblings Sheila and Wesley, to Singapore on July 21 and transferred to Indonesia last Aug. 18.
She reportedly met up with her parents Lin Wen Yi and Guo Jian Zhong in Singapore.
“It is worthy to note that currently, the Senate issued arrest warrants against Guo and her family for unduly refusing to appear, despite due notices, its probe into the illegal activities of POGOs,” Bersamin said.
Bersamin said a criminal complaint was filed against the dismissed mayor for qualified trafficking, adding that “other cases” are also being prepared for her alleged involvement in POGO operations.
Bersamin said Ong, one of the individuals whom Guo met in Singapore, was also cited in contempt by the House of Representatives for her failure to attend hearings.
Republic Act 11983 or the “New Philippine Passport Act” gives the DFA secretary the power to cancel a passport “in the interest of national security,” according to Bersamin.
“Under the same law, one of the grounds for the cancellation of a Philippine passport is when the court issues an order for its cancellation as the holder is a fugitive from justice,” Bersamin, a former chief justice, said.
Guo’s legal counsel Stephen David said Guo had assured him she was still in the Philippines, but admitted he cannot confirm the information and has no idea on her exact location.
Bureau of Immigration (BI) spokesperson Dana Sandoval on Tuesday confirmed Guo is currently in Indonesia.
“Based on the intelligence information shared by our counterparts (from other countries), we know that she is in Indonesia. From Singapore, she went to Indonesia the other day, Aug. 18,” Sandoval said over dzBB.
Sandoval had told The STAR that authorities also received information that turned out to be a “false lead.” They waited for Guo’s return to the Philippines last Thursday because she reportedly had a Cebu Pacific ticket for a flight from Singapore to the Philippines.
She was expected to return along with her siblings Sheila and Wesley and Ong, “but it ended up as a ‘false alarm’ because they did not embark the airplane going to the Philippines.”
Sandoval admitted it was only last Thursday when the bureau came to know that Guo left the country, but the information was still “vague.”
She said the BI is coordinating with other agencies to “backtrack her itinerary and movements, including verifying with our counterparts abroad.”
The BI confirmed from their counterparts that she has reportedly been using her name “Alice Guo” and her Philippine passport. Sandoval believes Guo is using her Philippine passport because she has no other passport.
At the moment, the BI is still checking if Guo used a chartered flight or an informal port to travel to Malaysia. But they are not discounting the possibility that she left via the “southern backdoor” or Mindanao.
Guo fled the country through the backdoor to avoid being detected by immigration and law enforcement authorities, PAOCC spokesman Winston John Casio said yesterday.
“It was through the backdoor. We are looking at two possibilities, one in Mindanao and another in Luzon that she might have used to leave the country,” Casio said over dwPM.
Based on the information they received from their foreign counterparts, Casio said Guo arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from Denpasar, Indonesia via Batik Air 177.
On July 21, she flew to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur via a Jetstar Asia flight. She arrived in Batham, Indonesia from Singapore on a ferry boat. The last time Guo was monitored in the country was last July 14, Casio said.
On July 20, the PAOCC received information Guo was staying in a private resort. When authorities went to check, Guo was nowhere to be found.
Justice Secretary Remulla yesterday ordered an investigation into the alleged escape of Guo from the country, warning those who facilitated her “slippery exit” would be held accountable.
Remulla ordered the BI and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate how Guo managed to leave the country despite being listed in the immigration lookout bulletin order (ILBO) and facing an arrest order issued by the Senate.
“I am issuing this final warning against erring BI personnel who may have had a participation in the escape of Guo despite strict restrictions imposed by our government, it’s either you come out and unveil the truth or wait until I personally get to the bottom of this where heads will roll and all hell will break loose,” Remulla said.
He also ordered authorities to look into the possible involvement of Guo’s legal counsels in her departure from the country.
The lawyer who notarized the counter-affidavit of Guo personally met with her on Aug. 14, according to Bulacan Provincial Prosecutor Ramoncito Ocampo.
According to Ocampo, Elmer Galicia told them that he personally saw Guo when he notarized her counter-affidavit that was filed before the DOJ in connection with the human trafficking complaint.
Quoting Galicia, Ocampo said Guo arrived on a Land Cruiser at the office of the lawyer in San Jose Del Monte City in Bulacan.
“He and Alice Guo talked outside his office and he saw her and Guo presented a driver’s license. Galicia then notarized the counter-affidavit which was due to be submitted to the DOJ for the preliminary investigation,” Ocampo said.
Ocampo accompanied Galicia, a former legal officer of San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan, to the DOJ yesterday to shed light on the notarization of Guo’s counter-affidavit.
Ocampo said Galicia volunteered to go to the DOJ, where he also met with the investigators of the NBI.
The lawyer will also submit an affidavit to recount the Aug. 14 incident.
With revelations that Guo has left the country, Sen. Risa Hontiveros yesterday called on the DFA to cancel her Philippine passport.
“The face of this fake Filipino is also really thick. The Philippine passport was even used to escape. Her passport should be made null and void immediately,” Hontiveros said.
“Canceling her passport will limit her travels. It’s easier to track her down when she’s not wandering around. And besides, she does not have the right to use a Philippine passport in the first place,” the senator added.
“When it was confirmed that her Filipino identity was forged, her passport should have been canceled immediately. I hope our agencies have done this. The failure to apprehend Alice Guo only shows the lack of better interagency coordination,” the senator said.
Despite reports that Guo has already sneaked out of the country, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will proceed with its investigation and allow her to file her counter-affidavit.
“We will proceed with the investigation and we will not stop,” Comelec Chairman George Garcia said.
The Comelec, he said, will observe the 10 days given to Guo to submit her counter-affidavit.
“We are looking if there is a lawyer who will surface or she herself will appear to dispute accusations of misrepresentation,” Garcia said.
After 10 days, Garcia said the Comelec legal department will submit the case for resolution whether or not Guo submits her answer to the complaint.
The Comelec is conducting a preliminary investigation into the possible criminal liability of Guo for declaring Filipino citizenship in her COC when she ran for mayor in 2022.
She faces one to six years imprisonment, among other penalties, if proven guilty of misrepresentation charges. — Evelyn Macairan, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Mayen Jaymalin, Daphne Galvez