Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz shares this undated photo, which, he says , shows the dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with members of the media on Thursday, August 22, 2024. (Photo from PAOCC Usec. Gilbert Cruz)
MANILA, Philippines — Dismissed Tarlac town mayor Alice Guo, who the government says is hiding in Indonesia, will have a hard time escaping to the “Golden Triangle,” Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said on Monday.
Gatchalian said he believes that Indonesian authorities are alert, making it difficult for Guo to make such movements.
The Golden Triangle area is notorious for being the stronghold of syndicates and triads, spanning the intersecting borders of Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia along the Mekong River.
READ: Alice Guo may be headed to the Golden Triangle – Paocc
“Possibility iyon. Pero para sa akin mahuhuli siya sa Indonesia,” Gatchalian said in an ambush interview in Taguig City when asked if Guo could further escape to the Golden Triangle.
(That is a possibility. But for me she will be caught in Indonesia.)
The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (Paocc) had floated the possibility that Guo may be attempting to enter the Golden Triangle.
“Pero naniniwala ako yung sangay ng enforcement agencies ng Indonesia ay nakaalerto na kaya mahihirapan na siya gumalaw dito sa Southeast Asia,” Gatchalian said.
READ: Alice Guo’s controversies: From Senate Pogo probe to her escape
(But I believe that the branches of law enforcement agencies in Indonesia are on alert so she will have a hard time making movements in Southeast Asia.)
Guo remains at large, but the PAOCC reported that she was spotted at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia, while the Bureau of Immigration stated that she is currently staying in Indonesia.
The former mayor has been the subject of scrutiny over her alleged ties to the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator in Bamban town.