Shiela Guo is Chinese national ‘Zhang Mier’, says NBI chief

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago talks to members of the media during a press conference with officials of the Bureau of Immigration and Department of Justice at the NBI-BSD office on Araneta Avenue in Quezon City on Friday, August 23, 2024. Santiago said during the presser that the sister of ex-Tarlac town mayor Alice Guo, Shiela, is Chinese national “Zhang Mier,” citing fingerprint analysis. Arnel Tacson, INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Shiela Guo is also a Chinese national, according to National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago.

Citing fingerprint analysis, Santiago announced during a joint press conference with Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco and Justice Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano on Friday that Shiela Guo is “Zhang Mier.”

“There was a comparative fingerprint analysis between Shiela L Guo, ito ‘yung nasa amin, at isang Zhang Mier. Comparative fingerprint analysis shows Chinese Zhang Meir and Shiela L Guo are one and the same person,” the NBI chief said.

READ: Sheila Guo, Cassandra Ong will be under NBI custody first – DOJ

“We can conclude na si Shiela L Guo na nasa amin ngayon ay isang Chinese,” Santiago added.

Tansingco said Indonesian immigration officers were able to seize from Shiela Guo a Chinese passport bearing the name Zhang Mier.

Alice Guo’s sister, Shiela, and business associate, Cassandra Li Ong, were nabbed and held at the Batam Special Class I Immigration Office in Indonesia on Wednesday, August 21, and handed to Philippine authorities on Thursday, August 22.

At past 5 p.m. on Thursday, the two women arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1, and then taken to the Bureau of Immigration for documentation and medical checkup.

Both were later transferred to the NBI office in Quezon City for inquest proceedings.

READ: Arrest of Alice Guo’s sister, Ong in Indonesia confirms Pogo links – DOJ

Ex-mayor Alice Guo’s sister is facing a violation of immigration laws, while Ong was charged with obstruction of justice and a violation of the Philippine Passport Act.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, citing information from the NBI, revealed last June that the expelled Bamban town mayor is Chinese national “Guo Hua Ping.”

The senator’s revelation prompted concerned government agencies to launch their probe into Alice Guo’s real identity and eligibility to hold public office in the Philippines.

The dismissed local chief executive, who ran and won in the 2022 elections, is also in hot water over her alleged links to Pogos.