Alice Guo, siblings likely fled PH via Tawi-Tawi backdoor – NICA
Alice Guo (left) and Shiela Guo. Photo from Voltaire F. Domingo/ Senate Social Media Unit/FACEBOOK
MANILA, Philippines — Alice Guo and her siblings, Shiela and Wesley, likely used the Tawi-Tawi backdoor to escape Philippine jurisdiction undetected.
This was revealed by National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) Director Ferlu Silvio during a Senate subcommittee on justice and human rights hearing on Tuesday after Sen. Risa Hontiveros questioned him about the matter.
“Which particular backdoor in the southern Philippines?” asked Hontiveros.
“The Tawi-Tawi area is much nearer. During or after the pandemic, there were many being transferred and transported back home.,” Silvio replied.
READ: BI still clueless about Alice Guo’s escape months into Senate probe
Silvio proceeded to detail that about 400 to 500 ships sail from Sabah back to Zamboanga.
He said one could imagine how many are being deported back to the Philippines with many trips as that, noting that if it’s easy to bring someone back to the Philippines, it would be easier to leave the country through a backdoor in the Zamboanga, Sulu, or Tawi-Tawi area.
“So the probable route being considered now for Guo Hua Ping’s exit is from Tawi-Tawi or somewhere else in the southern backdoor of the Philippines to Kota Kinabalu via Kuala Lumpur. Is that right?” Hontiveros clarified, to which Silvio answered in the affirmative.
According to Silvio, NICA was also able to monitor former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s travel from Zamboanga to Tawi-Tawi on September 2, 2024.
READ: ‘Where, for God’s sake, is Harry Roque?’: Hontiveros grills BI
He said after Roque landed in Tawi-Tawi, no other information came out.
Silvio said “it’s another possibility,” but he refused to detail which possibility he was pertaining to.
Later into the hearing, Hontiveros proceeded to question Bureau of Immigration Intelligence Division chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. if he agrees with NICA’s theory.
“So does the BI also think the most probable jump off point of Guo Hua Ping was Tawi-Tawi?” she asked.
Manahan said yes, adding that Alice, Shiela, and Wesley most likely traversed via sea. This, however, was questioned by Hontiveros who pointed out that there was a “Kuala Lumpur International Airport” stamp on the dismissed Bamban mayor’s passport.
But Manahan maintained that the speculation surrounding Kuala Lumpur International Airport remains a mystery to this day.
Hontiveros, however, insisted that this is the only thing she is certain about at present.
“We have proof—a stamp verified by my offices through Malaysian sources—that the stamp at KL International Airport Terminal 1 is apparently genuine. That’s the only thing we know for sure, and I don’t understand why this escape remains such a mystery” she said.
Manahan said he agrees, noting the possibility that the stamp is legitimate, but erroneously done.
