Where is Alice Guo going now? The Golden Triangle, says PAOCC

The Presidential Commission Against Organized Crime (PAOCC) suspects that the dismissed Bamban and Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo are heading to Asia’s “Golden Triangle,” a special economic zone bordered by Laos, Myanmar and Thailand that is notorious for a range of illegal and criminal activities.

At a press conference on Saturday, August 24, PAOCC spokesperson Dr. Winston Casio said that as far as the commission is concerned, Guo, also identified as Guo Hua Ping, will head to the Golden Triangle next while continuing to evade authorities.

“We are convinced 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 the moment,” he said.

“The Golden Triangle, these are countries with very porous borders, as I imagined, and we know what the Golden Triangle means when we talk about transnational organized crime,” he added.

According to Casio, the Guo family is said to have interests in the gambling industry in the Golden Triangle.

“As usual, it is more about offshore gaming operations – gambling. The Golden Triangle is very open to gambling operations,” he said.

“Hindi na sila POGO doon (They are no longer POGOs there), they are gambling companies. They are big. These names, these organisations, have even surfaced in a UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) report released on January 20, 2024,” he added.

Why the Golden Triangle?

Casio explained that Myanmar and Laos, including Cambodia where the Guo family also reportedly has gambling businesses, do not have an extradition treaty 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. Nor will I go to territories that are parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC),” he said.

“I will never go to those places again kasi madali po akong ibabalik (because I can be sent back easily),” he added.

Casio also said Guo would not dare 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,” he 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.

Follow Alice Guo

According to PAOCC’s investigation, Alice Guo was last seen on July 14 in the Philippines at a private resort on the western tip of Luzon.

“When we were about to issue the search and mission order against Alice Guo or Guo Hua Ping, our source at that specific location told us that she left in two speedboats, along with some members of her party, in the early hours of our operation,” Casio revealed.

The PAOCC official also revealed some of Alice Guo’s movements since she made her secret departure:

• July 17: Left Denpasar, Indonesia via Batik Air and arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (July 18, 12:05pm) on her Philippine passport
• July 21: Departed Kuala Lumpur via Jetstar Airways to Singapore
• Aug 18: Depart Singapore to Batam, Indonesia by ferry

Casio said Indonesian authorities are confident Guo “is still safe” in the Batam area. Meanwhile, they have also received reports that her brother, Wesley Guo, has attempted to leave Batam for Hong Kong.

“We have yet to hear from our colleagues in Hong Kong whether the attempt was successful,” he said.

Unfortunately, Casio has indicated that no Blue or Red Notice has been issued to facilitate Alice Guo’s immediate return to the Philippines.

“We do not have a Blue Notice because it is still being applied by our local prosecutors team,” he 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.

‘Let them remain Filipinos’

Casio warned against hastily revoking 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 People’s Republic of China has a policy that once you cancel your passport, your nationality, and you acquire nationality from another passport, it is difficult for you to get that nationality, that citizenship, back. What would happen to Sheila, Alice, Wesley, et al? They would become stateless individuals,” he 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 Guo should pay for her crimes in the Philippines.

“Let us be careful in canceling passports. Let them remain Filipinos first; then papanagutin natin sila dito; habang nasa loob ng kulungan cancel their passport (prosecute them and while they are in jail, let us cancel their passports),” he said.