She will never go to China.
This was stated by Winston Cascio, spokesman for the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), when asked about the final destination of ousted Mayor Alice Guo of Bambang, Tarlac, following reports that she was still in Indonesia.
Casio said at a news forum on Saturday that Guo cannot travel to China because he is “already a suspect in China as he has been charged with serious crimes related to illegal gambling in the Philippines.”
“We know how tough China is on gambling within their territory, so she will never come to those territories,” he said.
“As far as the PAOCC is concerned, we are confident she is trying to infiltrate the Golden Triangle,” Cascio said of Guo and her fellow fugitives.
Casio was referring to the Golden Triangle region of mainland Southeast Asia, where the borders of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar meet along the Mekong River.
“The Guo family has business and gambling interests in Cambodia so that would be the safest bet at the moment,” Cascio said.
Cambodia is not part of the Golden Triangle region, but it borders the Mekong countries of Thailand to the northwest and Laos to the north. Cambodia also has a coastline along the Gulf of Thailand.
“They are part of a larger criminal organisation called 'Yong Fujian Gan Kun Saan Kabilan ang mga guo ai kabahagi ng Golden Triangle Triad',” he said.
PAOCC officials said it would be difficult to arrest Guo once he arrives in the Golden Triangle.
“There's a war going on over there, so it's going to be tough (for us),” Cascio said, referring to the ongoing civil war in Myanmar.
Still, he said, “It depends on where in the Golden Triangle you land.”
“The Golden Triangle, these countries, as I would imagine, have very vague boundaries and we know what the Golden Triangle means when we talk about transnational organized crime,” Cascio said.
It was Senator Risa Hontiveros who revealed the information on Monday that Guo, also known as Guo Huaping, a Chinese national, had left the country for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 18.
The PAOCC also said the sacked mayor had traveled abroad and visited at least three Southeast Asian countries: Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
In an interview on Friday, Bureau of Immigration (BI) spokesperson Dana Sandoval said Guo was still in Indonesia and had not attempted to leave the country.
Indonesian authorities have detained the ousted mayor's sister, Sheila Guo, and Cassandra Lee Ong, the authorized representative of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) whose home was raided in Porac, Pampanga for alleged illegal activities. Alice Guo is accused in connection with the POGO facility in Bambang whose home was also raided.
According to Philippine authorities, Sheila Guo and Ong, both Chinese nationals, are currently in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Casio said Philippine authorities are waiting for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to issue an arrest warrant for Guo as they work with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
“Wala pa kasing warrant (Mula sa Ministry of Justice). Without an arrest warrant we cannot operate. With a warrant from the Ministry of Justice we can issue a notice, a red notice, pwede na natin makuha,” he said.
(The warrant has not been issued yet (by the Department of Justice). Without an arrest warrant we cannot operate. Once we get a warrant from the Department of Justice we can issue a notice, a red notice and secure them).
Meanwhile, Guo's lawyer, Steven David, said he had been able to speak with the ousted mayor and was hopeful his client would turn himself in sooner than expected.
Red Notification
A PAOCC official said the red notice “will allow her to return to the Philippines immediately.”
“The basis for a red notice, or an international arrest warrant, is a local arrest warrant. Wala pa poyun. The case we filed is still awaiting resolution at the Ministry of Justice… If it is resolved in the government's favour, then and only then will an arrest warrant be issued against her and only then can we start applying for a red notice with Interpol,” Cascio said.
Interpol defines a Red Notice as “a request for the location and arrest of a person against whom prosecution or criminal punishment is sought.”
Meanwhile, Cascio said local prosecutors plan to file a “blue notice” with Interpol on Tuesday.
A Blue Notice means requesting Interpol's assistance in gathering additional information about a person's identity, location or activities in connection with a criminal investigation.
“As for Mayor Guo, Indonesian authorities are confident that he remains safe on Batam,” Cascio said.
“Once you go to a public area, pwede siyang kuning. May we have legal basis to detain her for immigration check at a hotel or hotel or whatever. We can't do that and we can't violate her residence,” he said.
— VDV/VAL, GMA Integrated News
