From left: Dismissed Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac; Executive Sec. Lucas Bersamin; and Justice Sec. Jesus Crispin Remulla
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang has ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to revoke the Philippine passport of dismissed Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac, a day after government officials revealed that she had fled the country.
In a memorandum issued on Tuesday, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin directed Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla to take “appropriate action” on the cancellation of the passports of Guo, her family members Wesley and Sheila Guo, and business associate Katherine Cassandra Ong, who is also the representative of the raided Pogo hub Lucky South 99 in Porac, Pampanga.
READ: Alice Guo out of PH, fled to Malaysia last month – Hontiveros
Bersamin cited Republic Act No. 11983, or the New Philippine Passport Act, which states that the foreign secretary may cancel a passport in the interest of national security.
“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 added.
The Palace noted that Guo and her family have standing arrest warrants issued by the Senate for their refusal to attend the chamber’s hearings on the illegal activities of Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos).
A criminal complaint for qualified human trafficking has also been filed against the dismissed public official, as well as other cases “likewise being prepared for her alleged involvement in Pogo operations,” Malacañang said.
Final warning
Also on Tuesday, Remulla ordered the National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to get to the bottom of Guo’s reported escape.
The justice secretary instructed Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco to come up with a report immediately.
“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 the 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 in a statement.
He added that the DOJ would also investigate the possibility that Guo’s camp or legal counsels might have facilitated her departure from the Philippines.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros disclosed on Monday that Guo had already left the country for Kuala Lumpur on July 18 using her Philippine passport.
Later that evening, the BI said that Guo might have left the Philippines illegally without passing through the required checks of Philippine immigration authorities.
In a message to reporters, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission spokesperson Winston Casio, citing “foreign counterparts’ immigration records,” also said that Guo arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Denpasar, Indonesia, on July 18 via Batik Air 177.
Interpol assistance
Senators have likewise called on the government to request that Guo be placed under the red notice list of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said on Tuesday that the NBI could seek the intervention of the Interpol to place Guo, also known as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, on its red notice list.
He noted that Interpol notices are international requests for cooperation or alerts that enable police in member countries to share critical crime-related information, while a red notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.
Estrada said Guo’s numerous legal cases, such as the quo warranto petition filed by the Office of the Solicitor General before a Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC), the motion to cancel her birth certificate before the Tarlac RTC, and the human trafficking charges filed by the DOJ, among others, are enough grounds to have her Philippine passport canceled.
In a separate statement, Hontiveros said that canceling Guo’s passport would limit her travels and it would be easier to locate her “if she’s not wandering from one place to another.”
She noted that Guo did not have the right to use a Philippine passport in the first place, “her passport should be made null and void immediately.”
Involvement of criminals
In the House of Representatives, the quad committee investigating crimes related to Pogos could include in its inquiry Guo’s escape given her alleged links to criminal syndicates.
Deputy Majority Leader Jude Acidre on Tuesday said that the matter was “definitely something that the quad committee needs to also study and to also investigate,” while his colleagues called for heads to roll in agencies that should have prevented Guo’s flight.
At a press conference on Tuesday, the Tingog party list representative said the House’s super panel could consider Guo’s flight as a syndicated effort connected to Pogos, pointing out that it would not have succeeded without the cooperation of a few rogues in government or the failure of negligent agents.
House Assistant Majority Leader Jefferson Khonghun said that Guo’s flight should be investigated, alleging in Filipino that the ex-mayor would not have been able to leave without “greasing some palms of government officials, mostly in the (BI).”
Manila Rep. Joel Chua expressed disappointment that Guo was able to flee the country despite being fodder in daily news and having several cases filed against her which should have been enough for the issuance of a hold departure order.
The Philippine National Police, for its part, said it was willing to take part in any effort to locate and bring Guo back to the country and has coordinated with its foreign counterparts to verify reports that she had fled to Malaysia.
“If it’s true that she has already left the country, then we have to go through the diplomatic channels to address the possibility of bringing her back to the Philippines,” PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said in a press briefing. —with reports from Jeannette I. Andrade and Frances Mangosing