Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz shares this undated photo, which, he says , shows 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 — The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (Paocc) believes that embattled former Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo is attempting to enter the Golden Triangle—a region in mainland Southeast Asia covering four nations.
The so-called Golden Triangle, notorious for being under the influence of syndicates and triads, spans the intersecting borders of Mekong River countries Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia.
In a news forum on Saturday, Paocc spokesperson Winston Casio said that, as far as the commission is concerned, they are certain that Guo is trying to get into the Golden Triangle.
“We’re confident that she’s trying to get into the Golden Triangle because the family, the Guo Family has business interest, gambling interests in Cambodia. So, that would be the safest bet that we have as of this moment,” Casio said.
“So, the Golden Triangle, those countries are very porous in boundaries as I imagined and we know what the Golden Triangle entails when we talk about transnational organized crime,” he added.
The spokesperson added that Guo is not likely to head to China, known for being strict when it comes to gambling.
This would be a conflict, particularly as the former mayor is being investigated for her alleged ties with illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators.
Hiding in European and North and South American countries is also not an option for Guo, according to Casio.
“If I am a criminal from the Philippines, I will not go to countries where extradition between that territory and the Philippines exists and I will not go to territories that are party to the international… to the United Nations… UNTOC so to speak, United Nations Convention on Transnational Crime – I will never go to those places kasi madali po akong ibabalik,” he said.
The whereabouts of Guo and her other companions are currently under investigation.
According to Bureau of Immigration Spokesperson Dana Sandoval, Guo arrived in Malaysia last July 18.
On July 21, she, together with her siblings Sheila and Westley, arrived in Singapore.
They touched down in Indonesia via Batam Island on August 18.
Shiela and the former mayor’s business partner Cassandra Li Ong, were brought back to the Philippines last Thursday after being arrested and detained in Indonesia.