September 5, 2024 | 11:44am
MANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos and Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Francisco Marbil are in Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday, September 5, to fetch former Bamban mayor Alice Guo.
Guo was detained by Indonesian authorities after she fled from the Philippines, seemingly evading accusations of identity theft, human trafficking, money laundering and more.
Photos from the Department of Interior and Local Government showed Abalos and Marbil arriving in Indonesia.
The DILG said in a statement that the two officials arrived at Soekarno Hatta International in Jakarta at 2:30 a.m. on September 5.
Philstar.com has reached out to Abalos and the DILG to ask about when Guo could be brought home, but neither has responded as of this writing.
Marbil and Abalos’ travel were earlier announced by the PNP on Wednesday.
“The SILG (secretary of Interior and Local Government) himself will go there, as well as the PNP chief,” PNP spokesperson Jean Fajardo said in Filipino during a press conference.
Guo’s escape has left Philippine authorities in a tailspin, trying to look for the dismissed mayor. Despite being plunged to the national limelight, Guo was able to slip under the radar for months.
After she failed to appear in the Upper Chamber, a warrant for her arrest was issued. But it was too late since she had already left the country.
Not only were Guo and her cohorts able to evade Philippine authorities despite the warrant, but she also managed to attain a local government post using a fake birth identity.
During several Senate hearings, Guo was revealed to be a Chinese national named ‘Guo Hua Ping,’ despite her claims of being a Filipino citizen. This hinted at possible lapses or corruption in other government institutions, particularly the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Guo and her cohorts face charges of human trafficking and money laundering.
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