TRAVEL DOCUMENT This image from the Facebook page of Sen. Risa Hontiveros shows the Philippine passport of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and her travel details to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Hontiveros on Monday said Guo, who was linked to a raided Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogo) hub in her town, left the country on July 18.
MANILA, Philippines — The passports of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and her companions, who reportedly left the country last month, cannot be instantly revoked, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Thursday.
He explained that canceling their passports would pose a conflict if they were ordered to return to the Philippines.
READ: 2 of Alice Guo’s companions arrested in Indonesia – Abalos
“We cannot summarily cancel the passport because it is a document vested with rights,” said Remulla in an ambush interview at the Department of Justice.
“Now, it was found not advisable also to treat it summarily because if the passports are canceled immediately then how can you make them travel back to the country,” he continued.
READ: Bersamin orders cancellation of Alice Guo, family’s passports
The questions on passport cancellation arise from a memorandum issued by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Wednesday ordering the revocation of Guo’s passport, as well as those of Wesley Guo, Sheila Guo, and Cassandra Ong.
In the memorandum, Bersamin cited reports of Guo fleeing the country using her Philippine passport to Malaysia, then meeting her family in Singapore before traveling to Indonesia.
In the interview, Remulla also said that the order must be followed despite the trickiness of the situation.