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Palace orders passport canceled
By J.Lo
“Given foregoing and in the interest of justice, Office hereby directs appropriate action be taken for cancellation of Philippine passports of Guo, her family and Ong,” Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said Malacañang on Tuesday ordered Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Justice to cancel Philippine passports of dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo and those of her siblings.
In memorandum dated Aug. 20 addressed to Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Bersamin directed the two agencies to take “appropriate action” to cancel passports of Guo and her siblings Wesley Leal Guo and Sheila Leal Guo.
Memo also covers Katherine Cassandra Li Ong, authorized representative of Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) raided in Porac, Pampanga.
Bersamin also chairs Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).
His order came after Sen. Risa Hontiveros bared on Monday Guo, also identified as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, had already left the country using her Philippine passport.
According to reports, 33-year-old Guo left Philippines and entered Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 18. She then flew, along with her siblings Sheila and Wesley, to Singapore on July 21 and transferred to Indonesia last Aug. 18.
She reportedly met up with her parents Lin Wen Yi and Guo Jian Zhong in Singapore.
“It is worthy to note that currently, Senate issued arrest warrants against Guo and her family for unduly refusing to appear, despite due notices, its probe into illegal activities of POGOs,” Bersamin said.
Bersamin said criminal complaint was filed against dismissed mayor for qualified trafficking, adding that “other cases” are also being prepared for her alleged involvement in POGO operations.
Bersamin said Ong, one of the individuals whom Guo met in Singapore, was also cited in contempt by House of Representatives for her failure to attend hearings.
Republic Act 11983 or “New Philippine Passport Act” gives DFA secretary power to cancel passport “in the interest of national security,” according to Bersamin.
“Under the same law, one of the grounds for cancellation of Philippine passport is when court issues order for its cancellation as holder is fugitive from justice,” Bersamin, former chief justice, said.
Guo’s legal counsel Stephen David said Guo had assured him she was still in the Philippines, but admitted he cannot confirm information and has no idea on her exact location.
Bureau of Immigration (BI) spokesperson Dana Sandoval on Tuesday confirmed Guo is currently in Indonesia.
“Based on intelligence information shared by our counterparts from other countries, we know that she is in Indonesia…from Singapore, she went to Indonesia the other day, Aug. 18,” Sandoval said.
Sandoval had told media that authorities also received information that turned out to be “false lead.” They waited for Guo’s return to the Philippines last Thursday because she reportedly had Cebu Pacific ticket for flight from Singapore to Philippines.
She was expected to return along with her siblings Sheila and Wesley and Ong, “but it ended up as ‘false alarm’ because they did not embark airplane going to Philippines.”
Sandoval admitted it was only last Thursday when bureau came to know that Guo left country, but the information was still “vague.”
She said BI is coordinating with other agencies to “backtrack her itinerary and movements, including verifying with our counterparts abroad.”
BI confirmed from their counterparts that she has reportedly been using her name “Alice Guo” and her Philippine passport. Sandoval believes Guo is using her Philippine passport because she has no other passport.
At the moment, BI is still checking if Guo used chartered flight or informal port to travel to Malaysia. But they are not discounting possibility that she left via “southern backdoor” or Mindanao.
Guo fled the country through backdoor to avoid being detected by immigration and law enforcement authorities, PAOCC spokesman Winston John Casio said.
“It was through backdoor. ..we are looking at two possibilities, one in Mindanao and another in Luzon that she might have used to leave the country,” Casio said.
Based on information they received from their foreign counterparts, Casio said Guo arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from Denpasar, Indonesia via Batik Air 177.
On July 21, she flew to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur via Jetstar Asia flight. She arrived in Batham, Indonesia from Singapore on ferry boat. The last time Guo was monitored in the country was last July 14, Casio said.
On July 20, PAOCC received information Guo was staying in private resort. When authorities went to check, Guo was nowhere to be found.
Justice Secretary Remulla ordered investigation into alleged escape of Guo from the country, warning those who facilitated her “slippery exit” would be held accountable.
Remulla ordered BI and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate how Guo managed to leave the country despite being listed in immigration lookout bulletin order (ILBO) and facing arrest order issued by Senate.
“I am issuing this final warning against erring BI personnel who may have had 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,” Remulla said.
He also ordered authorities to look into possible involvement of Guo’s legal counsels in her departure from the country.
Lawyer who notarized counter-affidavit of Guo personally met with her on Aug. 14, according to Bulacan Provincial Prosecutor Ramoncito Ocampo.
According to Ocampo, Elmer Galicia told them that he personally saw Guo when he notarized her counter-affidavit that was filed before DOJ in connection with human trafficking complaint.
Quoting Galicia, Ocampo said Guo arrived on Land Cruiser at the office of the lawyer in San Jose Del Monte City in Bulacan.
“He and Alice Guo talked outside his office and he saw her and Guo presented driver’s license… Galicia then notarized counter-affidavit was due to be submitted to DOJ for preliminary investigation,” Ocampo said.
Ocampo accompanied Galicia, former legal officer of San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan, to DOJ yesterday to shed light on notarization of Guo’s counter-affidavit.
Ocampo said Galicia volunteered to go to DOJ, where he also met with investigators of NBI.
The lawyer will also submit an affidavit to recount Aug. 14 incident.
With revelations that Guo has left the country, Hontiveros yesterday called on DFA to cancel her Philippine passport.
“Face of this fake Filipino is also really thick… Philippine passport was even used to escape…her passport should be made null and void immediately,” Hontiveros said.
“Canceling her passport will limit her travels… easier to track her down when she’s not wandering around…and besides, she does not have right to use Philippine passport in the first place,” the senator stressed.
“When it was confirmed that her Filipino identity was forged, her passport should have been canceled immediately… I hope our agencies have done this…. failure to apprehend Alice Guo only shows lack of better interagency coordination,” the senator said.
Despite reports that Guo has already sneaked out of the country, Commission on Elections (Comelec) will proceed with its investigation and allow her to file her counter-affidavit.
“We will proceed with investigation and we will not stop,” Comelec Chairman George Garcia said.
Comelec, he said, will observe 10 days given to Guo to submit her counter-affidavit.
“We are looking if there is lawyer who will surface or she herself will appear to dispute accusations of misrepresentation,” Garcia said.
After 10 days, Garcia said Comelec legal department will submit case for resolution whether or not Guo submits her answer to complaint.
Comelec is conducting preliminary investigation into possible criminal liability of Guo for declaring Filipino citizenship in her COC when she ran for mayor in 2022.
She faces one to six years imprisonment, among other penalties, if proven guilty of misrepresentation charges.
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