MANILA, Philippines – Shiela Guo and Katherine Cassandra Ong, associates of ex-Bamban,Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo are now under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation.
The two were intercepted by Indonesian authorities on August 20 at the Batam mall, following the report of the Philippine government to international law enforcement agencies.
Ong’s lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio,confirmed the whereabouts of his client, now detained at the NBI with Guo’s sister.
“Nais kong magpasalamat kay [NBI] Director Jaime Santiago. He made sure that all the rights of those arrested are protected and are being treated well and all visitation rights will be observed including holidays. Maraming salamat po, Director Santiago, for respecting all the rights of my client,” Topacio said in an interview Friday morning.
Shiela, along with the mayor and the rest of the Guo family, has a standing Senate warrant while Ong has a pending warrant courtesy of the House of Representatives.
Both were issued warrants for their failure to appear before committee hearings.
“Well, we are going to see what will happen during the inquest tomorrow and then, of course, what will happen when the Sergeant at Arms of the House takes custody of both of them. And I also monitored the news na inutusan na ata ni [Senate President] Escudero ‘yong committee ni Senator Risa Hontiveros na magpa-warrant din sa kanya para sa Senado naman. So, tingnan natin kung saan siya. Ultimately kasi they have both respective warrants for my client,” he said.
Contrary to what people think, Ong, according to Topacio, is doing well.
“She’s okay. She’s in high spirit. She is convinced that she has done nothing wrong trying to do legitimate business,” he said.
“Arrested kasi inaresto. They were apprehended and taken into custody so may aresto. But on what basis, ‘yon po ang hindi natin alam. Kaya nga ‘yon ang sinasabi ko na and I’ve been consistent. Sinabi ko rin kay director [Santiago] but of course it is useless to debate the issue now because si director is doing his job, I’m also doing my job. We will leave it up to the proper forum to resolve,” he explained.
Guo however is still yet to be found.
