MANILA, Philippines — After eluding authorities for months, dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo has been arrested in Indonesia, Philippine officials announced yesterday.
Guo was apprehended by Indonesian authorities at Cendana Parc Residences at Tangerang City in Banten province, according to Philippine National Police (PNP) public information officer Col. Jean Fajardo and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago.
“We would like to confirm that around 11:30 p.m. Jakarta time of Sept. 3, Alice Guo was caught and arrested,” Fajardo told reporters at a news briefing at Camp Crame.
In a statement yesterday afternoon, the PNP said Guo, also known as Guo Hua Ping, was brought to Senayan in South Jakarta where she was secured by policemen.
Santiago said Guo is currently in the custody of the Indonesian police at Jatanras Mabes Polri.
Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) executive director Gilbert Cruz sent a photograph of Guo wearing a face mask and accompanied by four Indonesian officials.
The Department of Justice also confirmed Guo’s arrest in Indonesia.
Citing Senior Superintendent Audie Latuberu of the Indonesian Police, the DOJ said Guo was arrested in Tangerang City near midnight of Sept. 3.
Immigration officials have corroborated the arrest, although details on how Guo was captured remain undisclosed.
“The information has been confirmed by our immigration counterparts in Indonesia, and we are very happy with this development,” Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Tansingco said yesterday.
“We are anticipating her return to the Philippines soon,” Tansingco added.
During the PNP briefing, Fajardo showed photographs of Guo smiling and clad in a white dress while in the custody of Indonesian authorities.
There is no word on her brother Wesley, who authorities said was among the people who escaped with her from the Philippines.
Fajardo said Guo’s arrest was the result of the collaboration between Philippine and Indonesian police and a product of an intelligence-driven operation.
Fajardo declined to disclose other details, which led to the former mayor’s capture.
The PNP official said the next step is to bring the former local chief executive back to the country at the soonest possible time, noting that Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos and PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil are coordinating with Indonesian counterparts to facilitate Guo’s return to the country.
Abalos and Marbil attended a Zoom meeting with Indonesian officials where they first saw Guo.
The former mayor did not give a statement during the meeting.
In an interview with ANC, Santiago said that the NBI is working closely with the DOJ to expedite Guo’s return to the Philippines.
“DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has instructed us to coordinate immediately to ensure her prompt return,” Santiago said.
Remulla said Guo’s arrest is proof of efforts of law enforcement agencies and the strength of international cooperation.
“We will ensure that all legal processes are followed to hold her accountable for any crime committed,” Remulla said in a statement yesterday.
The Indonesian embassy in Manila said Indonesian police are investigating Guo, but did not give details.
Indonesian Justice Minister Supratman Andi Agtas said Guo would be deported to the Philippines, but the timing depends on the police investigation.
Guo allegedly left the Philippines as early as July after the Senate had ordered her arrest after she skipped hearings on the illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) firms’ operations.
The dismissed mayor is likewise facing a qualified trafficking complaint before the DOJ.
Guo had been ordered dismissed as Bamban mayor for grave misconduct with forfeiture of all her retirement benefits as well as perpetual disqualification from public office.
Questioned about Guo’s escape from the country, Santiago confirmed that preliminary reports suggest she exited through the backdoor, allegedly taking a boat to Sabah, Malaysia.
From Malaysia, Guo reportedly traveled to Singapore before arriving in Indonesia.
According to her purported sister Shiela Guo, they fled the country by boats.
Regarding Guo’s travel documents, Santiago confirmed that her Philippine passport has been canceled, making her an illegal alien in Indonesia.
Santiago said that authorities have yet to take custody of her belongings, and it remains unclear if she was carrying a Chinese passport.
“She is not yet in our custody, we are yet to see her belongings,” Santiago said.
Two options
There are two options with regard to Guo’s return to the Philippines, according to Fajardo: one is for the country’s police attaché to escort Guo back to the country, the other is for Abalos and Marbil to fly to Indonesia to personally fetch Guo.
“The intention of the secretary of the interior and local government and the PNP chief is that within the day, we can get the custody of Alice Guo,” Fajardo said.
She added that upon Guo’s arrival, the initial plan is to immediately bring her to the Senate, which had issued the arrest warrant.
“She will be immediately turned over to the Senate’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) and if there is a case to be filed, the PNP will be the one filing it,” Fajardo said.
Asked to comment about the reactions of netizens that it seems easier to apprehend fugitives such as Guo when they are no longer in the Philippines, the PNP official maintained that while there are challenges, the PNP and other law enforcement agencies are on track in efforts to locate wanted persons.
Fajardo is not discounting the possibility that there are people who have connived with Guo and assisted her in her escape.
Police are also pursuing Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) founder Apollo Quiboloy who is wanted for child abuse and qualified human trafficking and former Bureau of Corrections director Gerald Bantag, who has been tagged as the mastermind in the murder of broadcaster Percy Lapid.
Another high-profile fugitive, former Negros Oriental congressman Arnolfo Teves Jr., has sought refuge in Timor Leste.
In Guo’s case, Fajardo said an investigation is ongoing to determine if there are people in government, including members of the PNP, who helped her flee the country.
Repatriation
Meanwhile, Remulla said authorities are now looking into how to repatriate Guo since she was not arrested by Indonesian authorities for any immigration violation, but because she had been flagged as a fugitive with numerous charges.
Guo’s case is different from the apprehension of her sister Shiela and alleged business partner Cassandra Li Ong, who were nabbed in Batam, Indonesia last month by immigration authorities for possession of fraudulent travel documents.
Remulla said it is the Indonesian police, not immigration, that is handling Guo’s case, thus it should be studied carefully as there could be “complications.”
The DOJ chief added that Guo may have also undergone tactical interrogation in Indonesia, saying it is the “natural course of things.”
The DOJ and NBI will send teams to Indonesia to facilitate Guo’s repatriation, according to Remulla.
Remulla said the DOJ may send state prosecutors while the NBI would send senior agents.
Once Guo is back in the Philippines, the dismissed mayor will surely go to the Senate to face its inquiry.
She could also face the House of Representatives hearings on illegal POGOs.
“The House quad committee has an ongoing investigation. If they request Alice Guo to appear there, it is likely it will be granted,” Remulla said.
Deportation
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is coordinating with their counterparts in Indonesia for Guo’s immediate deportation.
In an interview with “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon,” BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said they have BI personnel in Jakarta to arrange with Indonesian authorities the logistics in Guo’s deportation.
“We are coordinating with Indonesian authorities, and we see (Guo’s deportation) very, very soon… Once we have ironed out all the plans for mayor Guo’s deportation, we will inform the public when she will return,” Sandoval added.
The BI expressed belief that Indonesian authorities arrested Guo based on her being an illegal alien.
The BI earlier provided information to their Indonesian counterparts that Guo is reportedly a wanted person in the Philippines because she has a pending arrest warrant issued by the Senate.
“At the same time, we also sent them information that she has a double identity, she has double documentation, but her double documentations do not match. She has both a Chinese identity and a Filipino identity, which we think she acquired fraudulently,” Sandoval said.
The dismissed mayor was reportedly alone and still wearing her sleeping clothes when she was apprehended.
Aussie drug kingpin
In exchange for Guo’s deportation, the Indonesian government is asking the Philippines to give to its custody Australian drug kingpin Gregor Johan Haas, Remulla confirmed yesterday in a now-deleted message.
Remulla answered in the affirmative when he was asked if the complications he mentioned regarding Guo’s deportation involved the request of the Jakarta police to exchange Guo with drug suspect Haas.
“Yes, what I mentioned earlier,” Remulla told reporters.
Haas, one of Indonesia’s most wanted drug traffickers, was arrested by the BI in Bogo, Cebu last May 15.
Remulla has yet to issue a clarification on his deleted message.
Wesley in Hong Kong?
Meanwhile, Wesley Guo, the supposed brother of the dismissed mayor, is believed to be currently in Hong Kong, according to Remulla.
He added that Wesley could have snuck into Hong Kong using a Chinese passport and left his sister Alice in Indonesia where she was arrested.
Authorities are now looking at canceling Wesley’s Philippine passport, according to Remulla.
Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty said the BI has sought the help of Hong Kong authorities in finding Wesley.
Guo’s safety
The Senate yesterday assured the safety of Guo, who will be detained in its premises to ensure her presence at the upper chamber’s public hearing on crimes related to POGOs.
The Senate’s OSAA chief Ret. Lt. Gen. Roberto Ancan said Guo would be detained at the Senate along with Shiela to attend the Senate investigation.
Ancan said he might add more personnel around the custodial facility, if necessary, to further ensure Guo’s safety.
Ancan noted that at present, there are enough police and security guards in addition to OSAA to provide security to Guo and those detained at the Senate custodial center.
Ancan further said he would allow Guo’s relatives and friends, and even her lawyer, to visit, as they did with Shiela.
With Guo’s arrest, senators are hopeful she would shed light on illegal POGOs in the country.
Senate President Francis Escudero said Guo could now be brought to justice.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian thanked Indonesian authorities and the NBI for their swift action in apprehending Guo and her associates.
Gatchalian said senators vowed to grill Guo about her role and accomplices in illegal activities.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros said she is looking forward to having Guo back at the Senate to face the investigation on her alleged links to illegal offshore activities.
The Senate will resume today its investigation on the Guo family’s use of fake Filipino citizenships to set up businesses here as fronts for laundering dirty money from syndicates.
As mayor, Guo was accused of helping set up an illegal offshore casino hub in Bamban, just behind the town hall as a front for online hacking and digital scams. – Daphne Galvez, Evelyn Macairan, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Marc Jayson Cayabyab