Sacked Bamban Mayor Alice Guo and Mary Ann Maslog —Photos by —Niño Jesus Orbeta and Greg C. Montegrande
MANILA, Philippines — Mary Ann Maslog, who had avoided prosecution over the 1998 textbook scam by allegedly faking her death, did not only try to convince sacked Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo into yielding to the government but could have also helped her slip out of the country, according to Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada.
Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Estrada said he received “unverified information” that Maslog had a role in Guo’s escape to Indonesia after the latter was ordered arrested by the Senate for snubbing its inquiry into the illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) hub in her town.
“This is an unverified report, [but it is] worth looking into,” Estrada said in a media briefing.
READ: Textbook scam suspect held in contempt for lying about Guo’s case
According to him, he may ask Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who has been leading the Senate inquiry into Pogo-related crimes, to invite Maslog to appear in the next hearing.
“If it is proven that she is instrumental in the escape of Guo, of course, we will invite her again to shed light on the matter,” he said.
Maslog is being held at the detention facility of the National Bureau of Investigation after she was arrested on Sept. 25 in connection with another alleged racket.
She earned the ire of several senators for allegedly lying about her true identity when she faced the Senate hearing on Tuesday.
Fingerprints match
In her testimony, the textbook scam suspect insisted that her real name was “Jessica Francisco,” despite the NBI’s fingerprint analysis showing that she was indeed the person named “Mary Ann Maslog.”
According to her, the Intelligence Group (IG) of the Philippine National Police had approached her to convince Guo to surrender to authorities since she was close to Mayor Liseldo Calugay of Sual, Pangasinan.
However, Police Gen. Romeo Macapaz of the PNP-IG countered that it was Maslog who offered her assistance, claiming she had a direct line to Stephen David, Guo’s lawyer.
Estrada had earlier disclosed that Calugay may have had a hand in Guo’s escape as the two had businesses together and were believed to be in a romantic relationship.
But the senator conceded that Maslog’s testimony carried little weight as she lacked credibility due to her alleged role in the P24-million graft case involving officials of the education department, then known as the Department of Education, Culture and Sports.
“Maslog is an incredible witness. And she will never be a credible witness,” Estrada said.
“Her alleged role in the return of Guo to the country is quite incredible, unbelievable at the most. Who is she to negotiate or mediate for Guo’s return?” he added.
Not credible
Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) spokesperson Winston Casio also had his doubts about Maslog, saying it was “too early to tell” whether she could contribute valuable information to the ongoing investigation of Guo.
“Maybe she really has something to say. But it will really depend on how good an investigator or interviewer you are to ferret out the truth, if any,” Casio said during a chance interview at the Department of Justice on Wednesday.
For now, he described Maslog as merely a “nuisance” to the probe.
In addition to the qualified human trafficking case against Guo, which is pending before a Pasig court, the PAOCC is also pursuing potential new cases against her.
“There are still things being uncovered, but we need to see how strong the evidence is. As of now, there are just too many cases filed against her,” Casio said.
During the Senate hearing on Tuesday, suspicions were again raised about Guo possibly being a Chinese spy.
A Chinese national, claiming to possess digital files of Beijing’s spy networks, said Guo’s entry into local politics as Bamban mayor in 2022 was allegedly orchestrated by China’s intelligence agency.
In a recorded video, Wang Fu Gui confirmed that Guo’s supposed dossier as a Chinese spy was included in the encrypted files entrusted to him by She Zhijiang, a Chinese gambling tycoon currently detained in Bangkok.
She first revealed Guo’s alleged connections to China’s Ministry of State Security in an interview with Al Jazeera.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Tuesday said that She traveled to the Philippines 21 times between 2011 and 2020.