MANILA, Philippines – As early as July, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian had already floated the possibility that dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo could have already fled the country. Now proven true, Guo’s exit, he said, is not only a “national shame” but a “global shame” for the Philippines before the international community watching this saga.
Despite an ongoing Senate inquiry, an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order, pending cases filed by various government agencies, and a Senate warrant, Guo was able to escape to Malaysia, crossed to Singapore and sneaked to Indonesia according to the intelligence obtained by Sen. Risa Hontiveros and the Bureau of Immigration.
The BI said they believe the former mayor could have slipped through the airport through blind spots, a scenario both Hontiveros and Gatchalian believe is only possible through the help of key government officials.
“This is a slap on the face of the Bureau of Immigration as well as the CAAP and the manager of our airports in this case NAIA,” Gatchalian said in an interview on ANC’s “Headstart.”
“You cannot just walk in the airport undetected, it’s impossible and you cannot just get out of our airports undocumented. You have to pass through Immigration, you have to pass through countless number of CCTVs,” he said.
Gatchalian said if her undetected pass through really happened, it would only be possible through the aid of government officials.
“We will not take this lightly and we will hold government agencies to account and we will make sure that heads will roll because of this incident,” he said.
Guo’s exit a temporary setback for Ph
Even though Guo’s escape marked a dent on the country’s law enforcement, Gatchian believes setbacks are only momentary. Her absence will not stop the roll out of her criminal liabilities and the long arm of the law, Gatchalian said, will soon reach her.
“This is a temporary setback for the country I believe because her world will become smaller and smaller because of those cases,” he said.
“We have extradition treaties between those countries and if ever we get a conviction and we’re very confident that we will, we can already file for an extradition process so that she will be extradited back to the Philippines and tried here,” he said.
