MANILA: Dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo (pic), otherwise known as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, left the Philippines in July, according to Sen Risa Hontiveros.
In a manifestation delivered during the Senate plenary session on Monday (Aug 19), Hontiveros revealed information that Guo was already out of the country and was, in fact, already in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 18.
The opposition senator said Guo used her Philippine passport to exit the country.
“According to my source, Alice Guo went to Singapore, where she met with her parents Lin Wen Yi and Guo Jian Zhing. The couple flew in from China on July 28, 2024. It seemed like a reunion because they were also with Wesley Guo and Cassandra Ong,” Hontiveros said, speaking partly in Filipino.
“Mr President, who allowed this travesty to happen? Who let this happen? Alice Guo could not have left without the help of government officials. It’s like we were fried in our own grease. I have always believed that legislative hearings are policy-driven. So that when the President [Ferdinand Marcos Jr] announced ban [on Philippine offshore gaming operators], I said to myself: We have done our jobs; let law enforcement take the lead,” she added.
This prompted Hontiveros to lambaste the Bureau of Immigration. According to her, the agency promised her and Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada that it wouldn’t allow Guo to leave the country.
She said that, if the Philippine government could not address this, it would be a big slap to the country’s laws, procedures, and policies.
Sen Raffy Tulfo seconded Hontiveros’ speech, noting that he conducted a hearing earlier where he pointed out the lack of a processing centre for passengers of chartered planes.
“If you’re a passenger who wants to go abroad on a chartered plane, you will not go through the process. You will not go through immigration. You will no longer go through the gate, in a limousine or SUV. And when you arrive at the tarmac, you will board your plane, and then here comes the customs, immigration, and quarantine [officials]. But if that is Alice Guo’s accomplice, it will be easy to get through because there is no CCTV where you are passing through,” Tulfo said in Filipino.
According to Guo, it was the reason why he told officials of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to ensure that processing areas would be placed for passengers of chartered planes.
“I am very sure that she [Guo] left on a chartered plane — through a private plane. So all we need to do is ask if we can trace the private plane or chartered plane that left that very day,” he added.
He likewise noted the need to determine the customs, immigration, and quarantine officials who were on duty the day that Guo left the country. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
