(UPDATES) JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Tuesday ordered a thorough probe into the reported escape of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo from the country, warning errant immigration officials that heads would roll.
He issued the order as Malacañang ordered the cancellation of Guo’s Philippine passport.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, in a memo sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Justice (DoJ), directed that “appropriate action” must be taken for the cancellation of the passports of Guo as well as those of her siblings, Wesley Guo and Sheila Leal Guo, and Cassandra Li Ong, the known representative of the POGO hub raided in Porac, Pampanga, last July.
Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo
Bersamin cited Republic Act 11963, or the New Philippine Passport Act, as the ground for the directive, stating that Guo “is a fugitive from justice.”
Remulla vowed that every single individual who backed or participated in her illegal exit would be held accountable to the full extent of the law.
He instructed Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco to come up with a report immediately.
The bureau confirmed on Sunday that Guo had managed to slip out of the country and traveled to Malaysia in July, then allegedly flew to Singapore with her siblings Sheila and Wesley Guo.
Last month, the BI assured the public that the names “Alice Guo and Guo Hua Ping” were both included in the Immigration Lookout Bulletin (ILBO), indicating that authorities would closely monitor her movements in case she tried to slip out of the country.
In a statement, Remulla warned the BI that, as civil servants, “we have sworn to the country our unwavering integrity, transparency and accountability in all our actions and decisions.”
“Hence, I am issuing this final warning against erring BI personnel who may have had a participation in the escape of Guo despite strict restrictions imposed by our government; it’s either you come out and unveil the truth or wait until I personally get to the bottom of this where heads will roll and all hell will break loose,” he said.
In addition, Remulla said they would also delve into the possibility that the camp or legal counsels of Guo might have had a hand in her “slippery exit” from the Philippines.
“So, let me reiterate that as much as lawyers have an obligation to protect the interests of their clients, they also have a broader responsibility to uphold the rule of law and safeguard public interest,” he said.
BI spokesman Dana Sandoval admitted on Tuesday that they remain clueless about how Guo slipped out of the country despite the presence of immigration personnel in every international airport and seaport in the country.
“Yes, there might be some immigration personnel or from other government agencies or private individuals who might have a hand; it is a big possibility because they have all the resources and the means. Easily, they are able to secure a seacraft or airplane,” she added.
Sandoval said an agency-wide investigation was now being conducted by the BI, saying that from there, “we would be able to backtrack the routes she used to get out of the country.”
She said that based on the information provided by their counterparts in Kuala Lumpur, Guo arrived there on July 16, not July 18, as earlier reported, and then flew to Singapore on July 21 with Shiela Leal Guo and Wesley Leal Guo.
But Sandoval pointed out that the information provided by Kuala Lumpur was a puzzle because it was supposed to be an arrival record, but it stated there was a departure record from Malaysia.
“There was a disconnect in the information we got from our counterpart. There was a flight number indicated there, but the flight number is not a flight from the Philippines to Malaysia but rather a flight from Malaysia out of Malaysia. So, there was a disconnect,” she said.
“That’s why we are trying to determine her means of transportation when she arrived in Malaysia because from there we would be able to backtrack [and learn] how she reached Malaysia,” she added.
Sandoval said Guo was last seen north of Tarlac but did not name the exact location, admitting that the BI only came to know that Guo was already out of the country on August 15, Thursday, but the information was vague because she had no departure record.
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