Alice Guo on her way to the ‘Golden Triangle’

(UPDATE) The Presidential Commission Against Organized Crime (PAOCC) said on Saturday that dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, was most likely trying to enter Southeast Asia’s “Golden Triangle” while continuing to evade authorities.

At a press conference in Quezon City, Winston Casio, spokesman for Paocc, said the Guo family is believed to have interests in the gambling industry in the Golden Triangle.

“Now what is the feasible area where she would go? As far as the Paocc is concerned, we are confident that she is trying to enter the Golden Triangle because the family, the Guo family, has business interests, gambling interests in Cambodia. So that would be the safest bet we have at this point,” Casio said.

Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN

“They are no longer POGO there; they are gambling companies,” he said, referring to Philippine offshore gambling companies. “They are big. These names, these organizations, even surfaced in a UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) report that was released on January 20, 2024,” he added.

Casio referred to the Golden Triangle region in mainland Southeast Asia, located on the border between the Mekong River countries of Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia, which are controlled by syndicates and triads.

The PAOCC official said Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, where the Guo family also reportedly has gambling businesses, do not have extradition treaties with the Philippines.

“If I am a criminal from the Philippines, I will not go to countries where there is extradition between that territory and the Philippines, and I will not go to territories that are parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC). I will never go to those places because I can easily be sent back,” he said.

Casio also said that Guo does not dare to return to China because of the nature of the crimes she has been linked to in the Philippines.

“She will definitely not go to China because she is already a person of interest to China. She is accused of a serious crime in the Philippines related to illegal gambling,” Casio said.

“We know how strict China is about gambling in their own territory. So, she would definitely not go to any of those areas,” he added.

Casio said based on Paocc’s investigation, Guo was last seen in the Philippines on July 14, at a resort on the “westernmost tip” of the country.

“When we were about to hand over the release order and carry out the mission order against Alice Guo or Guo Hua Ping, our source at that specific location told us that she had left in two speedboats, along with some members of her party, in the early hours of our operation,” he said.

On July 17, a PAOCC official reported that Guo had left Bali on a flight to Kuala Lumpur.

After four days in Malaysia, Guo flew to Singapore, where she stayed for about a month before heading to Batam, an industrial city and transportation hub in Indonesia.

“Now, regarding her current location — as of Monday, we have received reports that the brother, Wesley Go, attempted to leave Batam for Hong Kong. Whether the attempt was successful, we have yet to receive confirmation from our Hong Kong colleagues,” Casio said.

“As for Mayor Guo, the Indonesian authorities are confident that she is still safe in the Batam area,” he added.

Unfortunately, Casio said, no Blue or Red Notice was issued to facilitate Alice Guo’s immediate return to the Philippines.

“We do not have a Blue Notice as it is still being enforced by our local prosecutors team,” Casio said.

“We don’t have a Red Notice because there is no warrant for her arrest yet, the basis for a Red Notice. The case we filed against Alice Guo is still pending resolution at the Department of Justice (DoJ) — so that is a qualified case of human trafficking,” he added.

Meanwhile, Casio warned against rushing to revoke the passports of Guo and her siblings, saying that if China were to do the same, they could become “stateless,” which could lead to bigger problems.

The 1954 United Nations Convention on Statelessness guarantees that persons considered stateless “have the right to identity cards, travel documents and administrative assistance.”

They may also be entitled to protection and assistance from international refugee organizations.

“The People’s Republic of China has a policy that once you cancel your passport, your nationality, and you obtain nationality from another passport — it’s difficult for you to get that nationality, that citizenship, back. What would happen to Sheila, Alice, Wesley, et al.? They would become stateless individuals,” Casio said.

“I think it would be terrible if they became refugees and came under the framework of the United Nations Commission on Refugees, because then they would have a different legal status and would be protected by that legal status,” he added.

Casio said that if caught, Guo and her associates should be jailed in the Philippines.

“Let us be careful in canceling passports. Let them remain Filipinos first; then prosecute them, and while they are in jail, let us cancel their passports,” Casio said.

“As far as the commission and our team with Iacat (Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking) is concerned, we want them to be locked up in the Philippines to answer for all their crimes in the country,” he added.