Guo cohorts back in PHL after arrest in Indonesia

THE PRESIDENTIAL Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) on Thursday said the two cohorts of dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice L. Guo were back in the Philippines after their arrest in Indonesia on the same day.

Ms. Guo’s sister Shiela L. Guo and Lucky South 99 representative Katherine Cassandra Lee Ong were arrested in Jakarta and put under the custody of Indonesian authorities earlier on Thursday, he told reporters in a Viber group message.

The duo, who arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 at around 5 p.m. via Philippine Airlines flight PR 540 from Jakarta, were escorted by operatives of the Burrau of Immigration’s Intelligence Division and Fugitive Search Unit, the bureau said in a separate statement.

The bureau said it immediately coordinated with its counterpart in Indonesia upon learning that the two Guos and Ms. Ong traveled to Batam on Aug. 18.

“The Indonesian Inteldakim Officer of the Batam Immigration Office received the copy of the report and initiated an investigation on the group’s whereabouts,” Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said in the statement.

“They were considered illegal aliens by Indonesian immigration as they are wanted in the Philippines,” he added.

Intelligence information showed the group was assisted by a Singaporean man who booked their stay in Indonesia, the bureau said.

They were allegedly about to depart from Batam Island when the Indonesian investigation team from the Directorate of Wasdakim intercepted them and initiated their return to the Philippines.

Philippine immigration agents monitored the travel of Ms. Guo and Ms. Ong and escorted them back to the country.

Mr. Tansingco said he immediately ordered the arrest of Ms. Guo for being an illegal alien, while Ms. Ong would be arrested and charged by the National Bureau of Investigation.

He added that initial information gathered from Ms. Guo confirmed their suspicion that they had left the country illegally without undergoing regular immigration inspection.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla earlier told reporters the arrest of the duo proved there is a connection between the Bamban and Porac POGO hubs. Authorities raided both hubs earlier this year for operating without a permit.

Once back in the country, the National Bureau of Investigation will take them into custody, he added.

Meanwhile, Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel welcomed the “positive development.”

“This goes to show how human trafficking facilitated by POGOs is a regional problem that needs a regional, even global, solution,” she said in a statement.

The Guo sisters are both the subject of an arrest warrant from the Senate, but Ms. Ong is not included.

“[The Senate] secretary-general and sergeant-at-arms will coordinate with the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the office of Senator Risa to enforce and effect the warrant of arrest issued by the Senate versus Shiela Guo and detain her at the Senate,” Senate President Francis Joseph G. Escudero told reporters in a Viber message.

“Given that we do not, as of yet, have a warrant of arrest vs Cassandra, I instructed the SecGen and sergeant-at-arms to coordinate with their House [of Representatives] counterparts,” he added.

This came after they were accused of fleeing the Philippines allegedly to evade prosecution.

The dismissed local executive allegedly flew to Malaysia last month, before going to Singapore and Indonesia.

The Immigration bureau said it has no record of their departure.

Both POGO hubs in Porac and Bamban are accused of harboring illegal activities, including human trafficking, torture and scams.

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Wednesday said his government was investigating how Ms. Guo, a former town mayor accused of ties with Chinese criminal syndicates, managed to flee the country.

He warned that “heads will roll” a day after he ordered the dismissed mayor’s Philippine passport canceled after she left the country, which was confirmed based on foreign immigration records.

“We will expose the culprits who have betrayed the people’s trust and aided in her flight,” Mr. Marcos said in a statement. “Those responsible will be suspended and will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

Ms. Guo, wanted by the Senate for refusing to attend hearings on her alleged criminal ties, denies the accusations, insisting she is a natural-born Philippine citizen facing “malicious accusations.”

An Indonesian immigration official who declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media earlier confirmed that Ms. Guo had entered the country on Aug. 18 at 1:13 p.m. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana