Dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Leal Guo or Guo Hua Ping has already left the Philippines, and is now in Singapore, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros confirmed on Monday, August 19.
Hontiveros disclosed this development in a privilege speech during the Senate plenary session, saying she has received credible information that Guo has been out of the country since July 18, 2024, when she flew to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Senate had released an arrest order against Guo on July 13, at the height of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality’s investigation into the human trafficking activities of illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in her town.
Showing a copy of Guo’s flight details, Hontiveros said it was evident the suspended mayor left the country at 12:17:13 military time on July 18.
“Mr. President, hindi po pwede ipagkaila na siya ito dahil po match na match po ito sa kanyang Philippine passport na ifaflash ko ngayon (flash passport). Maraming salamat sa NBI sa impormasyong ito, patuloy ang pag track nila kay Alice Guo (Mr. President, it cannot be denied that it was her because it is a match with her Philippine passport that I will flash today. Many thanks to the NBI for this information, since they continue to track Alice Guo),” Hontiveros said, referring to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Hontiveros also said she received information that Guo then traveled to Singapore where she and her parents—Lin Wen Yi and Guo Jian Zhong—reunited.
“The couple flew in from China on July 28, 2024. Mistulang reunion sila doon kasama sina Wesley Guo at si Cassandra Ong (It was like a reunion together with her brother Wesley Guo and Cassandra Ong),” she pointed out.
Hontiveros slammed the incident as she floated the need to investigate law enforcement officials who might have a hand in allowing Guo to escape.
“Who allowed this travesty to happen? Sino ang may kagagawan nito? Hindi makakaalis si Alice Guo kung walang tumulong sa kanya na mga opisyales ng pamahalaan. Para tayong ginisa sa sarili nating mantika (Who is responsible for this? Alice Guo can't leave without government officials helping her. It's like we're fried in our own oil),” Hontiveros lamented.
“I have always believed that legislative hearings are policy-driven kaya noong nag announce na ng ban ang Pangulo (that’s why when the President announced a ban), sabi ko (I said), we have done our jobs, let law enforcement take the lead,”
“Pero paano kung ang law enforcement mismo ang kelangan imbestigahan (But what if our own law enforcement itself should be investigated)? What if they dropped the ball? Paano kung sila ang dapat managot (How do we make them responsible)?” she pointed out.
“Nangako ang BI sa akin at sa Senate President Pro Tempore na hindi nila hahayaan si Guo Hua Ping na makaalis sa Pilipinas, eh yun pala ay wala na talaga siya.
Mr. President, kung hindi po natin ito gawan ng paraan, as an institution, as a country, parang nagpasampal tayo sa dayuhang ito na paulit ulit na sinasaula ang ating mga batas, patakaran at proseso (The Bureau of Immigration promised me and Senate President Pro Tempore that they won’t allow Guo Hua Ping to leave the Philippines, yet she is no longer here. Mr. President, if we don't do any thing, as an institution, as a country, it seems we just allow these foreign national to trample our laws, policies and processes over and over again),” she stressed.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo expressed alarm over the implications of Guo’s disappearance, saying he was certain that she was able to board a chartered flight where proper departure processes were not observed, and with the help of unscrupulous airport officials.
Tulfo noted that most airports exempt travelers using chartered flights from the normal travel procedures.
“I am very sure na ito ay lumabas (that she left) through a chartered plane. We need to know what were the chartered planes that left during that very day. Dun natin mata-track. And sino yung CIQ, custom, immigration, quarantine officials ang nag-process ng kaniyang passport),” Tulfo said.
Sen. Grace Poe agreed with Tulfo, saying that the Senate should ask the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to provide lawmakers a record of all chartered flight departures from the Philippines.
“I’m sure we have a lsit of when they went to Malaysia and how many of these flights were bound for Malaysia,” Poe pointed out.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian also said it was necessary to check if Guo Hua Ping had been in and out of the country in the past few months while ignoring the Senate’s arrest order, noting that her camp had even filed a motion to reopen attach a counter-affidavit on the human trafficking case filed against her by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
According to Gatchalian, the counter-affidavit was notarized by a certain lawyer, Elmer Galicia. One of his staff, he said, was able to confirm that Alice Guo herself went to the lawyer’s office in San Jose, Bulacan on Aug. 14, 2024.
“So talaga hong pinagloloko tayo dahil parang lumalabas, bumabalik (siya) at despite na merong arrest warrant, hindi ito pinapansin (So we are just being given a run around because she seems to be coming in and out of the country despite the existence of an arrest warrant),” Gatchalian lamented.
“Kung totoong meron siyang personal appearance dito kay Atty. Galicia (That is if it’s true that she made a personal appearance with Atty. Galica),” the lawmaker pointed out.