Alice Guo ‘on the way to the Golden Triangle’

FIRED Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo is most likely headed to the “Golden Triangle” given her family’s business interests in the area.

At a media forum, Winston Casio, spokesman for the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), said Guo is “definitely” not going to China.

“She will definitely not go to China because she is already a person of interest as far as China is concerned, because she is accused of a serious crime in the Philippines regarding illegal gambling — and we know how strict China is regarding gambling in their own territory. So, she would definitely not go to any of those areas,” he said.

The “Golden Triangle” is an area of ​​approximately 930,000 square kilometers on mainland Southeast Asia, bordering Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, according to the World Atlas.

“Now what is the feasible area where she would go? As far as the commission is concerned, 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.

“It depends on where it falls in the Golden Triangle… So, the Golden Triangle, those countries are very porous in terms of borders, as I imagined, and we know what the Golden Triangle means when we talk about transnational organized crime,” he added.

Casio also said that a fugitive in the Philippines would not dare enter countries with which an extradition treaty exists.

“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 international… to the United Nations… UNTOC, so to speak, the United Nations Convention on Transnational Crime. I will never go to those places kasi madali po akong ibabalik,” he said.

Guo reportedly fled the country in July amid controversy over her alleged involvement in illegal Pogo, as well as allegations of nationality and identity falsification.

Casio was convinced that Guo’s escape had been made possible by powerful individuals, including government officials.

“An operation of that scale has so many moving parts and to verify such information requires technical expertise that is not available to any one party or individual,” he said.

“She couldn’t have done it alone… she didn’t notice the police… so someone somewhere kept dribbling the ball,” he added.

He said Guo and several members of her party left their operation aboard two speedboats in the early hours of the morning.

Casio said Guo and her companion were seen at a private resort in the western tip of Luzon before their escape.

On Thursday, August 22, her sister, Sheila Guo, and another companion, Cassandra Li Ong, the authorized representative of the illegal Pogo raided in Porac, Pampanga, were arrested and deported from Indonesia.

They are currently being held at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) detention center, where they face charges of obstruction of justice, harboring a fugitive and violating the Philippine Passport Act.

According to NBi director Jaime Santiago, Sheila obtained a Philippine passport “fraudulently.” According to him, her passport matched that of Chinese citizen Zhang Mier, based on fingerprint analysis.

After her arrest, a passport in Zhang’s name was found on Sheila.

Although these cases are subject to bail, Sheila and Ong may not yet be released due to the arrest warrants issued against them by the Senate and House of Representatives respectively, in connection with the ongoing investigation into the illegal Pogos robberies in Bamban and Porac.

Philippine authorities have already requested that a “red notice” be issued for the arrest of former Mayor Guo. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)