(UPDATE) TWO companions who traveled with dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Leal Guo — her sister and her business partner — arrived back in Manila after they were arrested in Jakarta, Indonesia and repatriated by the authorities there.
Guo’s sister, Sheila, 40, and her business partner Cassandra Li Ong, 24, arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 Thursday afternoon, escorted by four Bureau of Immigration officers.
NO ESCAPE Sheila Guo is surrounded by police officers and agents of the National Bureau of Investigation upon arrival at the NAIA on Aug. 22, 2024. PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago said the two passengers were to be transferred to the NBI office in Manila for the filing of criminal charges.
Sheila Guo and Ong arrived on Flight PR540 with 183 passengers on board. Sheila was put in a wheelchair after she fell at the Immigration area.
Both are being sought by the House and Senate. Sheila is facing allegations of helping her sister escape, while Ong was one of the incorporators of Lucky South 99, the illegal online gambling operation in the former mayor’s town.
Security was tight as the two women were whisked out of the Terminal 1 building and later brought to a waiting van.
Earlier on Thursday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Philippines was working with the Indonesian government for the immediate return of the two companions of the dismissed mayor.
Sheila Guo, sister of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, and Cassandra Ong, a business partner, arrive at the NAIA Terminal 1 in Pasay City on Aug. 22, 2024, amid tight security. They were whisked to the National Bureau of Immigration (NBI) office in Quezon City for inquest proceedings. PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA
Sheila Guo, sister of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, and Cassandra Ong, a business partner, arrive at the NAIA Terminal 1 in Pasay City on Aug. 22, 2024, amid tight security. They were whisked to the National Bureau of Immigration (NBI) office in Quezon City for inquest proceedings. PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA
Sheila Guo, sister of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, and Cassandra Ong, a business partner, arrive at the NAIA Terminal 1 in Pasay City on Aug. 22, 2024, amid tight security. They were whisked to the National Bureau of Immigration (NBI) office in Quezon City for inquest proceedings. PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA
Sheila Guo, sister of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, and Cassandra Ong, a business partner, arrive at the NAIA Terminal 1 in Pasay City on Aug. 22, 2024, amid tight security. They were whisked to the National Bureau of Immigration (NBI) office in Quezon City for inquest proceedings. PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA
Sheila Guo, sister of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, and Cassandra Ong, a business partner, arrive at the NAIA Terminal 1 in Pasay City on Aug. 22, 2024, amid tight security. They were whisked to the National Bureau of Immigration (NBI) office in Quezon City for inquest proceedings. PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA
Sheila Guo, sister of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, and Cassandra Ong, a business partner, arrive at the NAIA Terminal 1 in Pasay City on Aug. 22, 2024, amid tight security. They were whisked to the National Bureau of Immigration (NBI) office in Quezon City for inquest proceedings. PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA
Alice Guo, her siblings Sheila and Wesley, and their parents have a standing arrest order issued by the Senate for their refusal to appear before the ongoing investigation into the operations of the Zun Yuan Technology Inc., the POGO hub in Bamban, which was raided by authorities in March.
The investigation also led to questions on the nationality of the dismissed mayor, after the authorities revealed that her fingerprints matched that of a Chinese identified as Guo Hua Ping.
The Bureau of Immigration earlier said Alice Guo might have left the country without passing through the required checks of Philippine immigration authorities.
It was reported that Alice left for Malaysia on July 19, arrived in Singapore on July 21, and traveled to Indonesia on August 18.
On Tuesday, Malacañang ordered the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Justice to cancel the Philippine passports of the mayor, her siblings, and Ong.
Meanwhile, Sen. Risa Hontiveros raised the need to protect Ong because of her knowledge of the alleged illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) in Pampanga.
The senator said Ong could shed light and “pinpoint” the personalities behind the Lucky South 99, an alleged illegal POGO in Porac, Pampanga.
“What is her link to Alice Guo, [former presidential spokesman] Harry Roque, and others? Who helped her and the sibling of Alice Guo to escape the country?” Hontiveros asked.
The senator, chairman of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, commended the Indonesian authorities for “their decisive action in upholding the law and maintaining security.”
Hontiveros said she wondered why there were loopholes in the country’s immigration system that allowed Alice Guo to escape. “I believe that these will be answered in the next hearing [on POGO and human trafficking],” she said.
“I also expect the attendance of Cassandra Li Ong and Sheila Guo to our [public] hearing on Tuesday. They need to answer why they snubbed the Senate [inquiry],” she added.
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