THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) said that it has yet to determine how dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice L. Guo and her cohorts had escaped the Philippines last year, the agency confirmed during a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday.
Under Senator Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel’s scrutiny, BI Intelligence Chief Fortunato Manahan, Jr. admitted the agency has no knowledge of how they went past Philippine borders undetected.
Mr. Manahan said that the BI had sent written letters to their Asian counterpart bureaus, however, no written replies have been received, as of March 4.
“No official written replies have been received by the (BI) as of today, but, from informal channels there they have stated that there have been no results or information with regard to the arrival and departure of the Guos,” he added.
National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) Director Ferlu J. Silvio said that it was possible she and her companions had fled the country via Tawi-Tawi province.
“The Tawi-Tawi area is much nearer…the average sailing of boats is at 400 to 500,” Mr. Silvio added.
Ms. Hontiveros also asked for updates on BI’s internal investigation into officials and personnel who may have helped Ms. Guo escape the country.
“We will check if there’s any from the Office of the Commissioner… As far as I’m concerned, ma’am, (I have no information), because another office is in charge of that,” Mr. Manahan said.
Separately, BI Commissioner Joel Anthony M. Viado said that there is no evidence from the agency’s initial internal investigation, that proves any personnel were involved.
“There is no evidence that personnel of the agency are involved in Guo’s illegal exit,” Mr. Viado said in a statement.
Ms. Guo and her cohorts fled the country in July. She had reportedly traveled to Malaysia and Singapore, then to Indonesia a month later using her Philippine passport, according to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).
She has been accused of coddling illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators in Bamban town in Tarlac, 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. — Adrian H. Halili