Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo sought the assistance of Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos to whom she was handed over by Indonesian authorities on Thursday.
“Secretary, I need your help. I have received a death threat,” Abalos quoted Guo as saying during their meeting.
Abalos briefly addressed the media before boarding the chartered plane that also carried Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rommel Marbil and Bureau of Immigration and National Bureau of Investigation officials.
Upon her return, Guo will be brought to Camp Crame where she will stay the night after a medical exam, according to the PNP.
Abalos said the handover of Guo in Indonesia coincided with the observance of the 75th anniversary of Philippine-Indonesia friendship.
“This was made through police-to-police coordination because of the great friendly relations we have with Indonesia which has been going on for 75 years,” Abalos said.
“It won’t stop here. We will have joint projects in the future,” he added.
Abalos thanked Indonesian authorities for processing Guo’s deportation and handing over the former local chief executive.
BI to take custody of Guo
Justice Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Mico Clavano said that Guo was apprehended for immigration violations, not for the numerous charges she faces domestically.
“We know that she is not a genuine Filipino citizen, so since she fraudulently obtained a passport and has other immigration violations, she will be held in the legal custody of the BI,” Clavano said.
He noted that the situation in Indonesia was an immigration matter, not a police issue.
He said that Alice will undergo the same process as her sister, Shiela, and alleged business partner Cassandra Li Ong, who were also detained in Indonesia and returned to the Philippines for using questionable travel documents.
“We don’t anticipate any complications as this is a deportation matter,” Clavano assured.
Earlier, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco thanked the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) for recognizing the BI’s role in Guo’s safe return to the country.
Following PAOCC spokesperson Dr. Winston Casio’s statement that no evidence linked immigration officials to Guo’s unauthorized departure, Tansingco expressed appreciation for the acknowledgment.
Casio had clarified that Guo did not pass through the BI and was likely to have left the Philippines via a sea vessel without immigration assistance.
Tansingco also revealed that he had informed Indonesian authorities about Guo’s status as a BI mission target, leading to a manhunt and her eventual return.
Senate awaits Guo
Guo, who is believed to be the same Chinese woman named Guo Hua Ping, is expected to be turned over to the Senate on Friday.
“In terms of real-time updates that we are asking from the BI, there is information that she (Guo) will be surrendered tomorrow to the Senate,” Senator Risa Hontiveros said during Thursday’s resumption of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights’ hearing on the cancellation of Guo’s Philippine passport.
Hontiveros first revealed that Guo and her supposed siblings, Wesley and Shiela, departed the country on 18 July for Malaysia.
Sheila, along with Cassandra Ong, the authorized representative of Lucky South 99, the POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga that was closed by authorities for illegal operations, were apprehended in Indonesia last month.
Shiela previously revealed that Ong was the girlfriend of Alice’s alleged brother, Wesley, who left with them for Malaysia in July. Ong confirmed this earlier this week during a separate hearing of the House of Representatives.
Guo is at the center of the Senate investigation into the raided POGO hub in her town, which allegedly was involved in various illegal activities such as financial fraud and human trafficking.
Guo’s brother sends feelers
Wesley Guo, the alleged brother of Alice Guo, is willing to surrender to authorities, according to their legal counsel, Stephen David.
In an interview, David said Wesley had expressed his intent to surrender following the arrest of his alleged sisters, Alice and Shiela.
“He now wants to surrender, too. I can’t provide the details,” he told reporters before the resumption of the Senate investigation into the cancellation of Guo’s Philippine passport.
NICA: Guo’s case a national concern
The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) has classified the case of dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo as a national security concern.
“NICA considers this a national security issue due to Miss Guo’s various criminal charges, involvement in unlawful activities, and questions surrounding her Filipino citizenship,” said NICA legal officer Rowena Acudili during a Senate subcommittee hearing on Guo’s evasion of Philippine law enforcement.
Senate subcommittee chairperson Senator Hontiveros inquired about the national security implications of Guo’s attempt to evade capture.
Acudili revealed that while NICA initially received unverified information that Guo had fled the country on 18 August despite an arrest order, confirmation came only after Hontiveros’s privilege speech on 19 August, which said Guo was in Indonesia or Singapore.
Hontiveros had earlier reported Guo’s departure from the Philippines on 17 July, arriving in Kuala Lumpur the next day. During the hearing, she questioned NICA about their subsequent actions.