By Brian Jules Campued
Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo may have left the country in July and did not pass through the Philippine immigration authorities, according to an information received by Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco.
In a news release Monday, Tansingco made the statement after Sen. Risa Hontiveros alleged that Guo already left the country using her Philippine passport and entered Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last July 18.
“We received intelligence information from our counterparts abroad that Guo illegally left for Malaysia then flew to Singapore,” Tansingco said, citing “very reliable sources”.
He added that the dismissed local chief executive allegedly flew to Singapore with Shiela Leal Guo and Wesley Leal Guo on July 21.
Despite being listed in the Immigration Lookout Bulletin (ILBO) as Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping, Tansingco clarified that Guo’s supposed departure is not recorded in the BI’s database.
The BI chief emphasized that the agency maintains regular presence at international ports of entry and exit—but authorities “have not received any turnover or reports related to Guo from other agencies,” including those manning the country’s maritime borders.
Meanwhile, Tansingco also revealed that Katherine Cassandra Li Ong—named representative of Lucky South 99, the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Porac, Pampanga—had departed the Philippines as early as June 11, before the ILBO was issued against Guo, Ong, and others last August 6.
The group was also monitored traveling to Indonesia, Tansingco added.
He, likewise, stressed that canceling Guo’s Philippine travel documents could expedite her extradition to the Philippines. – iro