BI: Alice Guo flew to Malaysia, Singapore

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration has reason to suspect that dismissed mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac has left the country illegally, without passing through the required checks of Philippine immigration authorities, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said yesterday.

He said they have received information that Guo illegally traveled to Malaysia last July 21.

“We received intelligence information from our counterparts abroad that Guo illegally left for Malaysia then flew to Singapore,” Tansingco said. Guo reportedly flew to Singapore with Shiela Leal and Wesley Leal Guo, said to be her siblings.

Tansingco clarified that while Guo’s name is listed in the DOJ-issued immigration lookout bulletin, her supposed departure is not recorded in the BI’s system and centralized database.

Earlier yesterday, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said the search for Guo may have reached a deadend as the elusive former local chief executive is believed to have left the country back in July, based on travel records.  “I am now in receipt of information that in fact this person was already out of the country on July 18, 2024, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I will present this document, as proof that Alice Guo entered Malaysia. She entered at 12:17:13 military time on July 18,” Hontiveros said in a privileged speech.

She said it was on July 13 when the Senate, through her committee, issued a contempt citation and order to arrest Guo.

Senators condemned Guo’s apparent mocking of Philippine laws as they suspected that she may have boarded a chartered flight.

The Senate has a standing warrant of arrest against Guo for refusing to appear before Hontiveros’ committee on women and children and family affairs investigating alleged scam and human trafficking related to Philippine offshore gaming operators. The hearings of the committee unmasked Guo’s true identity as a Chinese named Guo Hua Ping.

Hontiveros presented a document containing information about Guo’s arrival at the KL Airport using her Philippine passport numbered P5469205B for “a social tour.” Her Philippine passport is valid until Sept. 3, 2030.

“Mr. President, it cannot be denied that it is her (Guo) because it matched her Philippine passport which I am showing you (on the screen). Thanks to the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) for this information, they continue to track Alice Guo,” Hontiveros added.

Citing her source, Hontiveros said Guo later went to Singapore, where she met her parents, Lin Wen Yi and Guo Jian Zhong. The couple flew in from China on July 28. “It looks like they had a reunion there with Wesley Guo and Cassandra Ong.” 

The senator noted that Guo’s face was not visible in CCTV footage at any airport outside the country, raising suspicion that immigration people or the authorities themselves had helped her pass incognito.

“Who allowed this travesty to happen? Who is responsible for this? Alice Guo could not just have left without getting help from government officials. It’s like we’re fried in our own lard. I have always believed that legislative hearings are policy-driven so when the President announced the ban, I said, we have done our jobs, let law enforcement take the lead,” Hontiveros said.

“But what if the law enforcement itself needs to be investigated? What if they dropped the ball? What if they should be held responsible? The BI (Bureau of Immigration) promised me and Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada that they would not let Guo Hua Ping leave the Philippines, but it turns out that she is no longer here,” she said.

“Mr. President, if we don’t do it right, as an institution, as a country, it’s like letting ourselves get slapped by this foreigner who kept on flouting our laws, policies and processes again and again,” she added. 

“I rise to speak against an assault on rights, privileges, reputation, conduct, decorum and dignity of the Senate as well as the integrity of its proceedings,” she said.

Lawyer: Guo still in Philippines

Guo’s lawyer Stephen David said he is confident that she is still in the Philippines, citing his conversation with her last Sunday.

“I am confident that she is in the Philippines because I have no reason not to believe her. We are talking. I wanted to know where she is and her assurance is that she is in the Philippines. That is where my confidence is coming from,” David said in an interview with “Storycon” on One News.

David said Guo specifically told him that she was in the Philippines during their online call on Sunday.

“She just swore under oath before a lawyer, stating that she is still in the Philippines. If she is no longer here, then that would be a big problem for the one who certified it,” he said, referring to a notarized affidavit that Guo’s camp submitted last week to the Department of Justice.

David said he does not know the lawyer who notarized Guo’s affidavit, but the location was in San Jose del Monte in Bulacan.

He said the lawyer could face sanctions if the affidavit was notarized without Guo personally appearing before the notary public.

“Second, I believe in our immigration. They will know if she already left the Philippines,” he added. David promised to call Guo again to ask her about Hontiveros’ claims.

David insisted that Guo even had plans to surrender and appear before the Senate.

“I don’t know when… it’s about timing,” he added. Guo, he added, is still considering running in 2025. “That’s why we’re fighting her disqualification so she can run again.”

CCTV proof

Sen. Raffy Tulfo rose to voice his support for Hontiveros’ privilege speech. “If you are a passenger who wants to go abroad a chartered plane, you will not go through the process (through the BI). You will not go through immigration but directly to the gate in your SUV limousine. When you arrive at the tarmac, you will get on the plane, and if you are an accomplice, you can easily get through without getting seen on CCTVs.”

Tulfo said they should find a way to hold Guo and any officials who helped her escape accountable. 

Sen.  Loren Legarda said Guo’s escape is a national security concern. She said the mayor may have left the country assisted by law enforcers and some government officials.

Sen. Grace Poe said the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) will surely have records of the airplane Guo boarded when she left.

She suggested that passengers taking chartered flights should be photographed for records purposes.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri suggested that the Philippine authorities ask for help from Malaysia regarding Guo’s flight details to determine what plane she boarded and who could have possibly helped her.

He said an arrival document in Malaysia would have the flight number, as well as other details like the owner of the chartered plane that she may have used. And since Guo is popular, the pilot would certainly know her, he said.

“The CAAP can dismiss pilots for failure to name the members in the manifest. It has to be the authentic name with the passport,” Zubiri added.

Zubiri suggested to Hontiveros that her committee subpoena the CAAP.

“If they give you the documents on which chartered plane provided this escape, then you can subpoena these individuals. But it is impossible for them to arrive at an international airport without specific information, that is a violation of international law,” he said.

Estrada recalled asking a BI official during Hontiveros’ committee hearing whether Go had already left. He said the BI official candidly replied that Guo was still in the country. “We should also hold the BI accountable for this fiasco,” Estrada said.

“I don’t think mayor Guo would charter a plane at the NAIA, perhaps she chartered a plane in small and not busy airports,” Estrada noted.

“The Guos are really playing with us and insulting our institution because on Aug 15, Guo filed and motion-attached counter affidavit about her case with the Department of Justice (DOJ) on human trafficking,” Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said.

“In the counter affidavit, which was notarized Aug. 14 by lawyer Elmer Galicia, whose office is located in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. My staff went to the law firm’s office but Galicia was not around, but the lawyer said Guo went to his office on Aug 14. So we are really being cheated, she went out and came back, despite having an arrest warrant,” Gatchalian said.

He said the Senate should invite the lawyer to hear from him if Guo had personal appearance with him.

“Either he (Galicia) is lying about the personal appearance or she was really going out and coming back. But an individual can’t go out and come back if his or her passport isn’t stamped,” Gatchalian added. 

DOJ spokesman Mico Clavano, for his part, expressed belief the dismissed mayor is still in the country.

“There has been no report to us of an attempted departure from the Bureau of Immigration,” Clavano said. “There have been reported sightings from law enforcement agents after July 18.”

In a separate statement, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission spokesman Winston Casio said it is coordinating with local law enforcement agencies to check on Guo’s supposed departure from the Philippines.

The commission is also awaiting official information from its Malaysian and Indonesian counterparts. — Janvic Mateo, Daphne Galvez, Evelyn Macairan