‘Ex-PNP chief may have helped Alice Guo escape’

Bato: Don’t look at me

MANILA, Philippines — A former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) may have been bribed to help dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo escape, a Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) official told senators yesterday.

During the continuation of the Senate’s public hearing on Philippine offshore gaming operator-related crimes, Sen. Risa Hontiveros asked PAGCOR senior vice president Raul Villanueva about the possibility that government officials may have helped Guo escape in exchange for money.

“Apart from that general detail, which is P200 million (given) to a high Bureau of Immigration official, are there other people who were allegedly bribed? Are there additional amounts being discussed?” Hontiveros said.

“There was talk about border immigration. I just don’t know, ma’am, the exact amount, including PNP officials. But I still can’t confirm that as I’ve been outside of the loop lately,” Villanueva said, citing raw reports from the intelligence community.

Asked which PNP unit he was referring to, Villanueva replied, “not PNP unit, but (PNP) personalities.”

“PNP personalities. Who are they?” Hontiveros asked.

“I think it was mentioned, a former chief PNP,” Villanueva said, adding he could not provide details pending further verification.

“Just to be clear, part of the talk in the intelligence community is that a former PNP chief is on the take with Guo Hua Ping, right?” the senator asked Villanueva.

“Yes, ma’am. But I also cannot ascertain that, from whom the report came… It’s just like rumors within the intelligence community. I think they are validating it right now. I even went to NICA (National Intelligence Coordinating Agency) last week, but there’s no information about it,” Villanueva explained.

“The talk there, ma’am, seems to be on the payroll, the monthly payroll ever since,” he added.

Villanueva clarified that the information about a former PNP chief being included in the payroll from POGOs – which he described as rumors or “usap-usapan” – was subject to further validation.

PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Deputy Director for Administration Gen. Raul Tacaca said that “so far, (there’s) no report with regards to whether any PNP personnel have been bribed.”

Not Bato

Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa did not waste time clarifying with Guo about the former PNP chief who was reportedly in the payroll of POGOs.

Dela Rosa was the first PNP chief under the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

“He (Villanueva) said that there is a former PNP chief receiving a monthly payroll from you (Alice Guo), can you find out who it is? I am concerned because I am a former PNP chief,” Dela Rosa asked Guo.

The senator expressed concerns that “Maybe later there will be a script out there that Bato is taking money from you.”

The mayor formerly known as Guo Hua Ping replied, “Nothing like that happened.”

Dela Rosa further pressed Guo, “Are you sure?” to which she said she was sure.

The senator asked Guo if she knew him, and she claimed she only got to know Dela Rosa when she came to the Senate.

She also added she did not even have any selfie pictures with the senator.

Even Villanueva cleared Dela Rosa, saying “I don’t have any confirmation, but I’m sure you are not the one.”

Guo pre-signed counter affidavit

Guo admitted before the Senate that she pre-signed her counter affidavit before fleeing the country last July, bolstering allegations that a lawyer had the public document notarized to cover her tracks.

Guo admitted signing the last page of her counter-affidavit to the charges prepared against her before she fled the country in early July.

She then left the paper at her farm house in Bamban and instructed her secretary Cath Salazar to attach it to the draft counter-affidavit that was notarized on Aug. 14, when she had already fled the country. Guo was arrested in Indonesia on Sept. 3.

Hontiveros noticed that the last page of Guo’s counter-affidavit is the signature page that she signed before she fled.

Hontiveros presented the affidavit of an unnamed Pangasinan trader who was approached by the secretary of Sual, Pangasinan Mayor Liseldo Calugay to find a lawyer to notarize Guo’s counter-affidavit.

For its part, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is eyeing to file administrative complaints against the lawyers of Guo over her “fake” counter-affidavit that was notarized and submitted to prosecutors in absentia.

The document was then notarized by lawyer Elmer Galicia on Aug. 14 and later submitted before the DOJ.

DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty said that possible complaints await notary public Galicia, as well as Guo’s lawyers since they have drafted and submitted the counter-affidavit before the department.

While the DOJ is still studying the cases they will file, Ty said it is certain that they will file a complaint before the Supreme Court, such as a disciplinary case against the lawyers for their “possible misbehavior.”

The criminal charges of human trafficking and money-laundering filed against Guo had been ordered transferred from the Capas, Tarlac trial court to the Pasig City trial court, Ty said. It is possible that future cases to be filed against Guo will be before the Pasig court.

Calugay denies romantic relationship

Meanwhile, Mayor Calugay denied he has a romantic relationship with Guo despite mounting evidence that the two shared more businesses bearing their combined names and photos of them wearing matching shirts during the campaign and when they were both serving as mayors.

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada pursued the line of questioning about their supposed romance, showing photos of them together, including one of Guo and a large bouquet of flowers Calugay sent for Valentine’s Day.

“You sent her flowers on Feb. 14, and yet you deny your relationship?” a smiling Estrada said.

“I send flowers to many people during Valentines,” Calugay said.

“Are you not lovers in POGO?” Sen. Joel Villanueva asked.

“I have no business partnership with her. She is not my girlfriend,” Calugay said.

Senators showed to Calugay the following businesses which bore his name with Guo – AC Aqua Farm, Dee Aqua Farm, Licsel Fish Farm, Donguo Fish Farm, and GuCo Aqua Farm, all based in Baquioen, Sual, Pangasinan. Estrada earlier bared that an Alisel Aqua Farm also bore their name.

Both Calugay and Guo denied having any business or romance.

“I am not lying. She is not my girlfriend. And we do not have any joint business,” said Calugay, who asserted that his previous marriage was annulled and he now has a new partner.

Proactive

The PNP should have been more proactive in its investigation to identify the people who assisted Guo’s escape from the country, a ranking security official said yesterday.

The official, who is privy to the ongoing investigation into the activities of illegal POGOs, scored the police force after reports surfaced that a former PNP chief was instrumental in Guo’s escape.

“Because of all the names mentioned, they should have investigated it,” the official said in a phone interview. The official declined to be named so that he could speak freely about the issue.

Closer to the truth

The Senate investigation into Guo’s links to POGOs and other illegal activities is “about to end, and I believe that we are getting closer and closer to the truth,” Hontiveros said.

“Policy-wise, I want to share what we have achieved so far. We have managed to identify gaps in border control, the system of granting visas, law enforcement, and birth registration, and now the government agencies that operate in these aspects are having their own investigations,” Hontiveros noted.

Hontiveros added the joint committees also gathered information, which prompted the filing of criminal charges against several individuals.

“Our hearings have allowed us to craft an amendment – accepted and passed into law – to the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act Law. We are also crafting amendments to the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act to add ‘forced criminality’ in the definition of human trafficking,” she added.

Estrada warned Alice Guo that she “will live most of your adult life behind bars” as her convoluted testimonies earned the ire of Filipinos.

“Here we GUO again. It’s season 2 of ‘I don’t remember / I don’t know, your honor.’ Because of your lies, Alice, and your convoluted answers, you have really captured the annoyance of the Filipino people,” Estrada said.

“And we are far from over,” he said. “However, even if we get almost nothing from asking you (Alice Guo), and even if you mislead this committee with your answers, we will not stop here in the Senate because we know that the whole truth will come out in the end.” — Emmanuel Tupas, Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Daphne Galvez