Alice Guo and Mary Ann Maslog —Photos by Niño Jesus Orbeta and Grig C. Montegrande | Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines — Mary Ann Maslog, the 1998 textbook scam suspect who allegedly faked her death to avoid criminal liability, on Tuesday admitted that she tried to facilitate the surrender of Alice Guo while the dismissed mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, was in hiding in Indonesia.
But Maslog’s narration of her supposed act of goodwill to help the government locate Guo and take her into its custody was met with angry reactions from several senators, who berated her for allegedly lying about her identity.
Testifying at the Senate inquiry into Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), Maslog insisted that her real name is “Jessica Francisco,” a claim that Sen. Risa Hontiveros and Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada immediately questioned.
READ: 1998 textbook scam suspect Maslog back from the ‘dead’
Hontiveros, who presided over the proceedings, cited several media reports on Maslog’s role in the P24-million graft case involving officials of the education department, then known as the Department of Education, Culture and Sports.
She said Maslog had supposedly falsified documents to make it appear that she already died on Nov. 18, 2019.
Sual mayor
Fielding questions from Hontiveros, Maslog claimed that the Intelligence Group (IG) of the Philippine National Police sought her assistance in contacting Guo after learning that she was a friend of Sual, Pangasinan Mayor Liseldo Calugay.
Estrada had earlier presented documents supposedly showing that Calugay and Guo were not only business partners, but were also in a romantic relationship.
Maslog said she first “met” Guo through a video call when she flew to Indonesia allegedly upon the PNP-IG’s request.
“There were talks that Guo wanted to surrender because there’s already a warrant for her arrest from the Senate,” she said.
But Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, a former PNP chief, quickly challenged Maslog’s story as he questioned her authority to act on behalf of the PNP’s primary intelligence unit.
Dela Rosa, who used to be the deputy chief of PNP-IG, also asked her to name the police official who allegedly sought her assistance.
Police contact
Maslog, who was arrested two weeks ago by the National Bureau of Investigation for another alleged scam, initially refused to identify his contact in the police intelligence unit, before she eventually named him as PNP-IG chief Brig. Gen. Romeo Macapaz.
Macapaz, who participated in the hearing online, denied Maslog’s claim, saying it was actually her who volunteered to help the PNP-IG track down Guo through her counsel Stephen David.
“I have information that you are being used to convince Guo to sign an affidavit,” a livid Dela Rosa told Maslog.
According to the senator, the affidavit would link him, former President Rodrigo Duterte, Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go and Maj. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr. to the Pogo operations.
He then claimed that a Malacañang official had directed Maslog to meet with Guo and persuade her to sign the affidavit.
“Who was that somebody from Malacañang you were talking to? Don’t lie to us,” Dela Rosa said in a raised voice.
Maslog, who appeared confident, insisted that she was just trying to help the government in arresting Guo.
Upon Dela Rosa’s motion, Hontiveros cited Maslog in contempt for supposedly lying before the Senate panel.
Spy angle bolstered
In the hearing, a Chinese national claiming to own the digital files of Beijing’s network of spies said Guo’s foray into local politics as mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, in 2022 was “arranged” by China’s intelligence agency.
In a recorded video, Wang Fu Gui confirmed that Guo’s alleged dossier as a Chinese spy was included in the encrypted files that She Zhijiang had entrusted to him.
She, a Chinese gambling tycoon currently detained in Bangkok, first mentioned Guo’s alleged ties with China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) in an interview with Al Jazeera news agency.
He also claimed that he was recruited to work as a Chinese spy while he was in the Philippines.
Hontiveros said her office was able to contact Wang and arrange a Zoom interview with him.
Chinese handler
Speaking in Mandarin, Wang said She allowed him to access “top-secret documents” as they became close after spending 18 months together in a Thai jail.
He said She also authorized him to access the “declassified” portions of the encrypted files.
One of the declassified information was about the personal details of Guo Hua Ping, her actual Chinese identity.
As to whether Guo was recruited by the Chinese government after she became a town mayor, Wang replied: “Her campaign itself was arranged by [MSS].”
When asked how Guo ended up working allegedly as part of China’s covert operators, he said She told him that Chinese undercover agents were recruited by MSS through formal organizations, such as the chambers of commerce, and “special hacking teams.”
According to Wang, the Chinese spy agency also kept the “secrets and weaknesses” of the agents they recruited to control them.
“For example, Guo Hua Ping’s fake Filipino identity is such a secret and weakness that she can only listen to [the MSS]. Mr. She’s experience is similar,” Wang said.
Citing the information provided by She, he said a certain Ma Dongli was the “handler” of both She and Guo.