Philippine president announces investigation after former mayor flees country amid Chinese criminal network allegations – JURIST

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. promised on Wednesday that “heads will roll” as the government investigates how a former city mayor accused of ties to Chinese criminal gangs fled the country. He said that “Alice Guo’s departure has exposed the corruption that is undermining our justice system and undermining public trust.”

On Monday, Senator Hontiveros shared information from the National Bureau of Investigation that Guo had entered Malaysia on July 18 before leaving for Singapore on July 21. The Bureau of Immigration confirmed these suspicions, stating that “the intelligence information that Guo left behind in Malaysia and Singapore came from highly reliable sources.” Several senators have called on the State Department to revoke Guo’s passport as a matter of national security and add her name to the International Criminal Police Organization’s Red Notice. Being placed on that list would allow law enforcement agencies around the world to locate and provisionally arrest Guo.

Marcos promised that:

We will expose the culprits who betrayed the trust of the people and helped her escape. A large-scale investigation is already underway and those responsible will be suspended and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

Senator Win Gatchalian has also promised that the Senate will initiate criminal proceedings against Guo for perjury and her continued resistance to a Senate subpoena:

This is a slap in the face to the Bureau of Immigration, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and the airport manager in question. You can’t just walk into an airport unnoticed, and you can’t leave our airports undocumented. You have to go through immigration and countless CCTVs. There should be traces of movement in the airport until you board the plane.

Although Guo “slipped through the cracks,” Gatchalian said, “her world will shrink and the long arm of the law will eventually catch up with her.” Still, the hunt has been long. Guo’s citizenship came into question earlier this year when the NBI said her fingerprints matched those of a Chinese national going by the name Guo Hua Ping, who entered the Philippines at age 14. Guo has vehemently denied the claims.

Following a raid on a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (PCO) compound operating out of a facility partly owned by former mayor Alice Guo, Guo was accused of having ties to associated criminals; founders of her company Baofu Land Development Inc. One of the founders of Guo’s company, a Chinese national named Zhang Ruijin, was convicted in April for links to what Senator Risa Hontiveros described as the “biggest money laundering case in Singapore.” The POGO industry has been linked to transnational crimes ranging from money laundering to human and sex trafficking, tax evasion and online scams.

In June, Guo was preventively suspended by order of the Ombudsman to allow for a thorough investigation. Senate President Jinggoy Estrada would later urge the Anti-Money Laundering Council to consider freezing Guo’s assets to protect public funds. Senator Gatchalian urged Guo to cooperate with authorities to expose POGO kingpins and dismantle the illegal operations, shedding light on the web of criminals involved. On July 13, the Philippine Senate ordered Guo’s arrest after she failed to appear for her scheduled hearing twice in a row. Guo claimed that she was not fit to appear due to stress and physical and mental health, and alleged that she had been the victim of “malicious accusations”.