Following the departure from the country of former Bamban Mayor Alice Guo amid arrest warrants issued against her, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) has vowed to work closely with the Department of Justice (DoJ) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on her case.
This as Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco share over the weekend the collaborative work his agency has done with the DoJ and the NBI on the successful return of Guo’s sister, Sheila, and her companion, Cassandra Li Ong.
Sheila Guo and Ong arrived in Manila last 22 August after being apprehended and deported from Jakarta, Indonesia. They had been linked to the questioned activities of the mayor in relation to the banned Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) based in Tarlac.
Tansingco said the BI submitted a report on their initial findings to the DoJ after which a case conference was held among the three agencies prior to the arrival of Shiela and Ong.
Tansingco thanked the Indonesian immigration authorities for their role in apprehending and deporting the two back to the Philippines. They were taken into custody by the NBI.
DoJ Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano and NBI Director Jaime Santiago, also attended and provided updates on the Guo case, during their conference with Tansingco on Friday.
Shiela was found to have a valid Chinese passport under the name Zhang Mier. Ong, being a Filipino citizen, was arrested by the NBI on charges related to a possible criminal case.
Tansingco clarified that if confirmed that Sheila indeed fraudulently acquired her Philippine documents, she will be deported to China as she also holds a Chinese passport valid until 2031.
Sheila’s deportation, however, will be suspended pending the resolution of all her criminal cases and other liabilities in the country.
The two deportees will be presented in the next hearings on POGOs by the Senate and House of Representatives.
Some sectors had blamed the BI for allowing Mayor Guo to leave the country and for allegedly belatedly confirming her departure after Senator Risa Hontiveros revealed the suspected Chinese spy had flown the coop.
On Sunday, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said it is hoping for a “positive development” regarding the case of dismissed Mayor Guo.
PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said they are also coordinating with the NBI and BI to determine the whereabouts of Guo and the other persons of interest associated with her.
“[The search] continues and hopefully, similar to the case of Cassandra Li Ong and Sheila Guo, there will also be a positive development that we can bring Alice Guo back to the country,” she said.
Last week, Senator Hontiveros revealed that Guo fled the Philippines on 17 July and passed through Malaysia and Singapore before proceeding in Indonesia.
The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said it believes Guo may have passed through three exit points without passing through the country’s border personnel.
On Saturday, PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio added that the embattled local chief executive may try to slip in the Golden Triangle where Guo’s family allegedly run a gambling operation.
“As far as the PAOCC is concerned, we’re confident that she’s trying to get into the Golden Triangle because the family, the Guo Family has business interest, gambling interests in Cambodia,” he said.
The Golden Triangle is a mountainous region in Southeast Asia which borders Myanmar, Laos and Thailand.