"Heads will roll."

This was President Marcos' assurance to the Filipino people following the sneaky departure of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo amid ongoing investigations into her alleged involvement in the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country and questions about her citizenship.

Marcos said this after Senator Risa Hontiveros revealed on Monday, Aug. 19, that Guo, also identified as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, had managed to escape Philippine authorities as early as July 18 and was already in Singapore.

In a statement early Wednesday morning, Aug. 21, the President said the administration will launch a full-scale investigation to get to the bottom of the issue.

"LET ME BE CLEAR: Heads will roll," he said in an X post.

"We will expose the culprits who have betrayed the people's trust and aided in her flight. A full-scale investigation is already underway, and those responsible will be suspended and will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law," he added.

In a text message to Palace reporters, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said the President wanted the investigation to be completed "as soon as feasible."

Meanwhile, Marcos lamented that Guo escaping Philippine authorities meant that there were still rotten apples in the government.

"The departure of Alice Guo has laid bare the corruption that undermines our justice system and erodes public trust," he said in his social media post.

"There is no room in this government for anyone who places personal interest above serving the Filipino people with honor, integrity, and justice," he added.

According to Senator Hontiveros, Guo used her Philippine passport to fly out of the country last July 18. The dismissed mayor was headed to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where she met her family, and then traveled to Indonesia.

On Tuesday, Aug. 20, Malacañang ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to cancel the passport of Guo, her siblings Wesley Leal Guo and Sheila Leal Guo, and a certain Cassandra Li Ong.

"Given the foregoing and in the interest of justice, this Office hereby directs that appropriate action be taken for the cancellation of the Philippine passports of Guo, her family, and Ong," Bersamin said in a memorandum.

Under the "New Philippine Passport Act," the DFA Secretary may cancel a passport in the interest of national security. Under the same law, a passport could be canceled following the issuance of a court order as the holder is a fugitive from justice.

The Senate has issued arrest warrants against Gu and her family for unduly refusing to appear in its prone into the illegal activities of POGOs, which President Marcos has already banned during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last month.

A criminal complaint has also been filed against Guo for qualified trafficking. Other cases are likewise being prepared for her alleged involvement in POGO operations. Meanwhile, Cassandra Ong, one of the individuals Guo met in Singapore, was also cited in contempt by the House of Representatives for her failure to attend hearings.

'Someone dropped the ball'

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said in an interview over State-run PTV-4 on Wednesday, Aug. 21, that they would strive to finish the investigation on Guo's sneaky departure as it was "obvious" that someone had dropped the ball which allowed her to exit the country last month.

"Given the limited information we have, talagang nahirapan po kami (We are having a hard time). We were caught off-guard. Obviously somebody dropped the ball so kinakailangan po talaga yung masusing imbestigasyon dito (this requires a thorough investigation)," he said.

"In the next few days, we'd have to come up with a definite and concrete answer as to how she was able to get out of the country, otherwise we'd be the laughingstock of our ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) neighbors," he added.

Possible exit points

According to Casio, they are looking into three possible areas where Guo could have gone through to leave the country as she does not appear in any commercial flight records or immigration records.

"We're trying to get as many details as we could, given the situation. Three possible exits— one in the northernmost tip of Luzon, another in the westernmost tip of Luzon, and the last in the Mindanao backdoor exit," he said.

He explained that whether Guo left the country by air or by sea, the country's air and maritime regulatory offices should have still received a report of her departure.

"So, somewhere along the line meron ho talagang nagpabaya rito (Someone let this happen). It may be a matter of may tumulong or may nagpabaya (someone helped or someone let it slide)," Casio said.

As of Wednesday morning, Casio said Guo was in Batam, Indonesia.

Getting Guo back

Once the Philippine government has finalized the cancellation of Guo's passport, Casio said this will trigger the "blue notice" and the "red notice" (international arrest warrant) of Interpol, allowing the law enforcement agencies of the country wherever Guo was to arrest her and send her back to the Philippines.

However, it would be easier if Guo was in a country that has an extradition treaty with the Philippines.

"Pero kahit wala ho tayong extradition treaty, nandiyan naman po ang interpol notice, yung tinatawag nating red notice nga po (But even without an extradition treaty, there's the red notice)," Casio said.

"There are many legal avenues available to the Philippine government to make sure that she would be able to account for her crimes in the country," he added.