Guo siblings fled Philippines by ‘small white boat’

MANILA, Philippines — Dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo and her siblings left the country using boats bound for Sabah, Malaysia last July, her sister Shiela Guo told a joint Senate public hearing yesterday.

Guo recalled in the hearing led by Sen. Risa Hontiveros that she and her siblings Alice and Wesley were picked up by a white van from their house on their farm in Bamban, Tarlac around 7 p.m. and traveled about five hours, arriving at a place where they boarded a small white boat.

After several hours on the boat, Guo said they transferred to a bigger ship she described as a fishing vessel as she saw some fish and nets. The bigger ship sailed for about three to four days.

She said they then transferred to a smaller boat that brought them to Malaysia.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian pointed out some loopholes in Guo’s statement as he asked her where they were between the first weeks of July to July 18, when their passports were stamped passing Malaysia’s borders.

Hontiveros concurred with Gatchalian’s note, saying, “How can you be in two places at almost the same time?”

Guo claimed that they were already staying in Malaysia, specifically in Sabah, for four days but did not know where Sabah is.

She then claimed that a still unknown woman fetched them in Malaysia on July 21 heading for Singapore, where they were fetched by Cassandra Li Ong, who then accompanied them to Indonesia.

She noted that they arrived in Indonesia on Aug. 18 but Alice left them either Aug. 19 or 20 to attend to something.

Hontiveros cited Guo for contempt in the Senate committee on women hearing and she has to attend the committee hearing before her contempt is purged.

“We need to be sure that those who facilitated Alice Guo’s escape will be held liable,” Hontiveros noted.

During the questioning of senators, Guo claimed her father was Guo Jian Zhing and that Alice Guo was her sister, but she later admitted that the former was not her real father.

She said she arrived in 2004 and worked as an ordinary employee of an embroidery factory in Marilao, Bulacan.

However, Guo refused to give a categorical answer on who helped her and Alice get their Philippine identity.

Hontiveros pointed out that records showed that the Guo family arrived in the Philippines in 2001, to which Guo admitted she was not born in the Philippines.

She also said she did not know about her fake Philippine passport, which was only handed down to her by her father.

Sen. Ronald dela Rosa blew his top as he claimed Guo was lying to the committees.

“It’s obvious you’re lying. Don’t fool us here. Maybe you know what Alice Guo is doing in this committee, that’s why you will do the same,” Dela Rosa said.

Gatchalian said the escape of Alice Guo was a huge shame to the country as the whole world has taken interest in the controversy. He questioned the Bureau of Immigration (BI), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP)’s actions.

He emphasized various law enforcement agencies should use their intelligence funds to find criminals and find out their movements as he highlighted BI’s P20 million in intelligence funds, NBI having P175 million and the PNP having P906 million.

Hontiveros also lamented the country’s capacity to enforce border laws, stating that the image it displays is depressing.

Meanwhile, Ong declined the invitation of the Senate to testify at its hearing, according to the statement of her legal counsel Ferdinand Topacio.

But Hontiveros slammed her absence, telling Topacio that “the right against self-incrimination cannot justify one’s outright refusal to appear before a Senate committee.”

She adjourned the hearing as it revealed that Guo’s statement only revealed more questions than answers with regards to the siblings’ escape.

Escape through Sual?

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada revealed his theory that the Guo siblings may have escaped the country through a port in Sual, Pangasinan.

“My office has received information that there is a port (in Sual) where Chinese nationals enter. Maybe they are POGO employees who are brought there to Bamban. Now, you can also run away from there. Take a ship to go abroad. That’s just my theory,” Estrada said.

Meanwhile, Department of Justice Undersecretary Nicolas Ty suspected that Guo’s group left the country through Luzon and then went to the backdoor of the country in Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-tawi (Zambasulta).

“When the news came out that Alice Guo had left the country, the theory of the DOJ was she either traveled by air or across the sea. It’s good that Shiela Guo had revealed how they left the country,” Ty added.

He added that most of the Filipinos rescued from human trafficking claimed they used backdoor routes, either through Zambasulta or Palawan.

He also affirmed Guo’s statement as he revealed that the Luzon route can be used by people to escape, especially if they have resources.

Meanwhile, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that Guo’s testimony affirmed their theory that the Guo siblings departed illegally without formal inspections.

“They allegedly deliberately evaded immigration inspection by leaving on board a small boat from a resort somewhere north, then transferred to a bigger boat. She then said that from the bigger boat, they transferred to another small boat and went straight to Sabah,” Tansingco said.

He also reiterated that Guo is currently facing a deportation case for undesirability and misrepresentation as a Filipino national, as she was found to have a valid Chinese passport under the name Zhang Mier.

But she would only be deported after the resolution of all pending criminal cases filed against her and the completion of all other liabilities in the country.

He added similar cases might be filed against Guo’s siblings when they return to the country.

“We are in close coordination with our Indonesian counterparts in monitoring the movements of Alice Guo,” the Immigration chief said.

“We are glad that this piece of the puzzle has been found, but Alice’s return to the Philippines would ensure that justice is served,” he added. — Evelyn Macairan