Dismissed town mayor Guo arrested in Indonesia
By Chloe Mari A. Hufana and Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporters
INDONESIAN authorities in the early hours of Wednesday morning arrested a former town mayor who is wanted in the Senate for her alleged links with illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice L. Guo was arrested by its Indonesian counterparts around 1:30 a.m. in a hotel in Tangerang City, Jakarta. This was also confirmed by the Philippine Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).
The DoJ confirmed plans to send Ms. Guo home within the week. She is currently in the custody of the Indonesian Police at Jatanras Mabes Polri.
Philippine National Police (PNP) Spokesperson Jean S. Fajardo said in a press briefing PNP Chief Rommel Francisco D. Marbil and Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin C. Abalos, Jr. may personally travel to Indonesia to fetch Ms. Guo.
Stephen L. David, one of Ms. Guo’s legal counsels, welcomed the development but said they are concerned about her health, safety, and security.
“She may not know or realize it by now, but this recent event can be a good start for all her cases,” he told BusinessWorld in a text message on Wednesday night.
“We would like to remind the public that unless proven otherwise, Alice L. Guo is innocent,” he added.
He urged the public not to make “crude” and “malicious” remarks against the ousted mayor.
“All matters related to our client will be ventilated and answered in the proper forum and before courts of competent jurisdiction,” he said, adding Ms. Guo’s counsels demonstrate the highest respect for the law of the land.
The Philippines and Indonesia have extradition treaties. They are also member-states of Interpol, along with Singapore and Malaysia.
Ms. Guo is expected to be turned over to the Senate as it investigates offshore gaming operations, which have been linked to transnational crimes.
Senator Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, who has initiated a probe into POGOs, said the Senate expects Ms. Guo to face its hearings as soon as possible.
Ms. Hontiveros was the first one to publicize Ms. Guo’s escape, citing immigration documents.
“The arrest of Alice Guo is a crucial breakthrough in our fight against organized crime and corruption,” Senate Francis Joseph Guevara Escudero said in a statement.
“Her capture not only moves us closer to bringing her to justice but also offers a chance to uncover the illegal POGO operations that have plagued our country.”
CASES AWAIT GUO
In a separate press briefing, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla said the department may issue a resolution on the human trafficking complaint filed by the PNP and PAOCC against the former local chief on Friday.
On top of this, Ms. Guo is facing lawsuits before the Ombudsman, the Office of the Solicitor General, and the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
DoJ Prosecutors are also handling qualified human trafficking, tax evasion, and money laundering complaints against Ms. Guo and her cohorts.
Following her arrest, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Wednesday said the government would expedite the resolution of cases against the dismissed mayor.
Ms. Guo or Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, who went into hiding in Indonesia for weeks amid charges filed against her in the Philippines, will be “entitled to all legal protections due her under the laws of the land and pursuant to our commitment to the rule of law,” the Mr. Marcos said in a video statement.
“But we will not allow this to prolong the resolution of the case whose outcome will be a victory for the Filipino people.”
Ms. Guo is wanted by the Philippine Senate for snubbing its hearings into POGOs, which have been linked to human trafficking, scamming operations, and various transnational crimes.
She has been accused of coddling an illegal POGO in Bamban, Tarlac north of the capital Manila where she ran and won for the first time as mayor in 2022. Raided by authorities in March, an illegal hub on land she partially owned had been linked to scamming operations.
She fled the country in July, traveling to Malaysia and Singapore, then to Indonesia a month later using her Philippine passport, PAOCC earlier told BusinessWorld.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and several other agencies in late August jointly filed multiple charges of money laundering against Ms. Guo and 35 others before the Justice department.
She and her cohorts built corporations to “conceal the true nature of their businesses and to make it appear they are engaged in legitimate activities,” according to a case filed by the AMLC, PAOCC, and the National Bureau of Investigation.
‘PAY THE PRICE’
Mr. Marcos, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a disaster briefing, said those who aided Ms. Guo’s escape “will certainly pay the price.”
“We won’t just fire them, we will file charges against them,” he said in mixed English and Filipino. “What they did violates the law and is against all of the interests of the Philippine judicial system.”
Ms. Guo was also accused of spying for China, amid questions on her nationality and identity which all unfolded in Senate hearings. She has denied the allegations, maintaining that she’s a natural-born Filipino citizen.
The government has frozen her accounts over money laundering, tax fraud, and human trafficking charges.
Her assets covered by a freeze order issued by the AMLC and affirmed by the Court of Appeals included 90 bank accounts that were registered with 14 financial institutions and that were under her name and that of her business partners, luxury vehicles and one helicopter, and a dozen real estate properties.
POGOs, which mainly cater to Chinese markets and had been widely embraced by the previous administration, have been a major headache for the Philippine government, so much so that Mr. Marcos ordered a ban in July.
Mr. Marcos in his third address to Congress said POGOs have been “disguising” as “legitimate entities” but their operations have ventured into illicit areas, linking them to financial scams, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture and “even murder.”