Former PNP chief helped Guo escape — Pagcor exec

A former Philippine National Police chief may have had a hand in the escape of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and her siblings in July, a Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation official revealed on Tuesday.

Citing a “rumor” within the intelligence community, Pagcor Senior Vice President for Security and Monitoring Cluster retired general Raul Villanueva made the revelation during the joint hearing of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality with Senate Committees on Migrant Workers, and Public Order and Dangerous Drugs into the raided POGO hubs in Bamban and the alleged links of Guo with them.

"They are talking about the border immigration. I just don't know the exact amount, ma'am, including the PNP officials. But I still can't confirm that,” Villanueva told senators.

Guo, who is at the center of the Senate investigation for her alleged involvement in POGO firms in her town, confirmed that she left the country in July due to her supposed death threats.

She earlier claimed that she left the country using several boats, including a yacht, with her siblings, Sheila and Wesley, in their escape to Malaysia.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, who is spearheading the Senate investigation, sought more information from Villanueva about the PNP officials who helped Guo escape in exchange for money amounting to P200 million.

“Which PNP units were mentioned in the hearsay?” Hontiveros asked Villanueva to which he clarified that it was not units but rather personalities.

“I think it was mentioned that it was a former chief PNP,” he quipped.

Hontiveros prodded Villanueva to divulge the name of the said former PNP chief, but he noted that his knowledge is only limited to the position of those involved.

“I don't know, ma'am, but they said it was a former chief PNP,” he said.

For its part, the PNP said it has yet to conclude its investigation into whether its former head was involved in the facilitation of Guo’s escape.

“For the part of the PNP, so far we have no report regarding any PNP personnel being bribed. However, despite this, our intelligence community continues to coordinate with other agencies to determine if there are any PNP personnel involved. We will file the necessary cases if we obtain any evidence,” said Raul Tacaca, Deputy Director for Administration of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

Upon hearing this, Hontiveros expressed disappointment about the supposed reliance on the law enforcement agencies on the Senate investigation.

“You were the only one who mentioned that, as early as August 14, you already knew, and on August 15, you informed the BI. Whereas all the other agencies only said they found out on August 19 when I made a manifestation,” she said.

“It's as if our Intel agencies are relying on the Senate for intelligence. I cannot believe it, and I don't want to believe it. Because if that's truly the state of our intelligence, we're in trouble in the future,” she added.

Former PNP chief under Guo’s payroll

At this point, Hontiveros asked more questions to Villanueva about its supposed participation in Guo’s escape.

Responding to the lawmaker’s queries, Villanueva said the intelligence community is currently validating the information.

“I think they are validating it right now. I even went to the NICA [National Intelligence Coordinating Agency] last week, but there's no information about it, ma'am,” he said.

“The rumor there is that he was under her payroll. He was in her monthly payroll ever since,” he added.

Hontiveros turned to the National Bureau of Investigation and NICA to question whether they received any information regarding the said matter.

NBI Investigation Service Assistant Director lawyer Angelito Magno refused to comment on the issue but noted it was part of their investigation and intelligence gathering.

“Since in the ongoing backtracking and investigation we are conducting, we are also looking into that,” he told senators.

NICA Director Ferlo Silvio shared the same answer, noting that they are working with other law enforcement units in Malaysia and Indonesia.

“Generally, I cannot provide the specific progress but there are ongoing discussions between our liaison officers and the police attachés of two posts, Malaysia and Indonesia. For now, if ever, I'm sorry, I cannot comment on the new statement given by General Villanueva but rest assured, NICA will provide updates on the developments,” Silvio said.

BI still working on report

Prior to this, Hontiveros pressed the Bureau of Immigration about reports that their officials had also helped facilitate the escape of Guo and her siblings.

For his part, BI Intelligence Division Chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. admitted that the agency is still conducting an internal investigation into the said matter.

"The BI is still undergoing its internal investigation, and rest assured that after the investigations or conclusions regarding the investigation are finalized, we will submit them to this committee,” Manahan told the panel.

He said that part of their investigation is to look at whether immigration personnel are involved in Guo’s escape, adding that Guo leaving the country via air is still possible.

“Again, ma'am, we cannot discredit the fact that part of the investigation also involves investigating our own personnel and our ports of entry and exit. As I mentioned in the last hearing, there is a possibility that the escape happened either via an aircraft or sea vessels,” he said.

“But, at this time, we are focused on the sea path for the escape of the Guo siblings. We will submit, ma'am, once we finalize our investigation,” he added.