Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino warned Alice Guo that they could be detained in Sulu or Tawi-Tawi since she could be charged with Shiela Guo for committing a continuing offense before a local court.
He said this during the hearing of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality into illegal POGOs headed by Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday, Sept. 17.
Tolentino said that this includes any court with jurisdiction along the escape route they claimed to have taken to flee the country to defy authorities.
He asked Department of Justice (DOJ) Prosecutor Isser Josef Gatdula about the possibility of the government charging the Guos for a continuing offense – if both continue to insist that they escaped the country by taking a series of boat rides until they reached Indonesia, where they were eventually arrested.
“Kung sakaling totoo itong sinasabi nila (If what they're saying is true), and the offense there would be a violation of the summons issued by the Senate Committee, do you agree with me that such a case can be considered as a continuing offense?” the senator asked Gatdula.
The DOJ prosecutor answered: “Yes, your honor, there’s a possibility.”
Tolentino then explained: “The nature of a continuing offense is where it was initiated, where it started, where it continued, and where it ended. So kung tama yung sinasabi nila na sumakay sa yate, sumakay sa barko, lumipat (So if it's true what they're saying, that he rode a yacht, took a boat, and transferred), in any of the jurisdictions where they passed, any court can assume jurisdiction. And for that matter, the violation took place in any place as part of the escape route. Is that correct?”
Gatdula again agreed with the senator.
“Ibig sabihin, ‘pag patuloy pa rin yun kanilang pagmamatigas na sinasabing doon sila sumakay (In other words, it means that if they continue to stubbornly claim that they got on board there).… that would not prevent the DOJ from filing a necessary offense violation in a venue which is part of their escape route,” the senator continued.
“So may possibility na doon n’yo i-file ang isang kaso (So there's a possibility that you fale the case there), sa Sulu o sa Tawi-Tawi?” Tolentino asked.
“Yes, your honor, there's a possibility,” the prosecutor replied.
Tolentino then turned to Alice Guo: “Narinig mo po yung tanong ko? So payag kayo na makulong sa detention facility, mafile-an ng kaso sa RTC ng Sulu o Tawi-Tawi? Malayo na ito, mahihirapan na ang abogado mong pumunta roon. Okay lang sa iyo (Did you hear my question? So you're willing to be detained in a detention facility, have a case filed against you in the Regional Trial Court of Sulu or Tawi-Tawi? That's going to be a long way, and it'll be difficult for your lawyer to travel there. Is that okay with you?)"
To which Alice Guo responded: “Wag naman po sana (I hope not).”
“Kaya gusto namin magsabi ka ng totoo (That's why we want to tell you the truth),” the senator retorted.
He warned the Guos not to feel complacent in the “confines and convenience of their present detention facilities” in Metro Manila.