But where is the dismissed mayor?
BY Ashzel Hachero and Victor Reyes
TWO of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo’s companions in her flight from justice — her sister Sheila Leal Guo and business associate Katherine Cassandra Li Ong — were brought back to the country yesterday afternoon after being apprehended and detained by Indonesian authorities last Wednesday.
A Philippine Air Lines flight (PR 540) carrying the two, escorted by operatives of the Bureau of Immigration intelligence division and fugitive search unit, landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 5:03 p.m. amid tight security.
“They were considered illegal aliens by Indonesian immigration authorities as they are wanted in the Philippines,” BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said, adding their Indonesian counterparts at the Batam Immigration Office immediately investigated after learning that the Guos — Alice, Sheila and their brother Wesley, along with Ong, traveled to Batam last August 18.
“Intelligence information shows that the group was assisted by a Singaporean man who booked their stay in Indonesia,” Tansingco added.
He added the group was about to depart the island of Batam when Indonesian authorities intercepted and took custody of them and initiated their return to Manila.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Sen. Raffy Tulfo reported that Alice Guo, together with Ong, arrived in Jakarta from Singapore on board a cruise ship.
Tulfo said Ong and Shiela Guo were apprehended at the Mega Mall Batam Center in Riau, Indonesia last August 20 but Alice Guo was not with them anymore.
A report from ABS-CBN said according to Indonesia’s Ministry of Law and Human Rights, their immigration officers this week flagged “suspicious foreigners” in Batam, an Indonesian island a ferry away from Singapore, prompting them to coordinate with another office to identify the individuals.
The authorities found out that the two “suspicious” foreigners were Cassandra Li Ong and Shiela Guo, the subjects of a Philippine government letter that informed them about the case of Alice Guo, who was reportedly in Indonesia along with some companions.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the two would be taken into custody by the National Bureau of Investigation for debriefing.
He added the NBI would coordinate with the Senate and House of Representatives regarding the arrest orders they issued against the Guos and Ong.
Guo’s sister was among the individuals ordered arrested by the Senate last July in connection with the Senate’s investigation on the illegal operation of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) hub in Bamban.
The House has also issued an order to take Ong into custody due to her continued failure to attend its inquiry on POGO-related crimes.
Ong is an incorporator of Lucky South 99, the operator of the illegal POGO facility raided in Porac, Pampanga that authorities said is linked with the POGO facility raided in Bamban.
The four House committees investigating POGOs cited Ong for contempt after she failed to show up after repeated invitations.
The quad comm, chaired by Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, demanded Ong’s custody after learning that she was arrested in Indonesia with Guo’s sister.
“In view of the attached contempt order issued by the joint committee composed of the committee on dangerous drugs, public order and safety, human rights, and public accounts on 16 August 2024 against Katherine Cassandra Li Ong and pursuant to the authority of the Speaker… you are hereby ordered to take into custody and detain Katherine Cassandra Li Ong for contempt of the House of Representatives for a period of 30 days,” the quad comm said in an order to the House Sergeant-at-arms.
The quad comm wants Ong to stay at the House’s detention facility.
Senate President Francis Escudero instructed Roberto Angcan, the Senate Sergeant-At-Arms, to coordinate with the Department of Justice and the PNP “for an orderly and peaceful procedure given the legal quagmire surrounding the two personalities.”
Since Cassandra Li Ong has no standing warrant of arrest from the Senate, Escudero said Senate secretary-general Renato Bantug and Angcan were also instructed to coordinate with their counterparts in the House of Representatives regarding the HOR’s enforcement of the warrant of arrest on her.
Ong has been issued a subpoena by the Committee on Women for her failure to attend past hearings in connection with the crimes associated with the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) industry.
Escudero said the Senate wants to take custody of Sheila since she has been issued a warrant of arrest but was informed “that per guidance from the DOJ, the NBI shall take custody of both Shiela and Cassandra in order for NBI to file cases against Cassandra, and BI to conduct inquest proceedings against Sheila on immigration charges.”
“Thereafter, the NBI will debrief them. Only thereafter shall they coordinate with the Senate and House regarding the warrants issued by both Houses against them,” Escudero added.
Escudero said the Senate coordination with the HOR is “…to ensure her (Ong’s) compliance with the subpoena issued by the Senate (which was not properly served given that she was already in hiding perhaps at that time) should the Senate committee so require her attendance in coordination with the House.”
Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros, who chairs the Committee on Women, said the sub-committee on justice, which she was named to head, will conduct an inquiry on the escape of Alice Guo on Tuesday next week where they will require Shiela, Ong, and other persons involved to attend the inquiry.
She said the arrest of Shiela and Ong “is a promising development and a testament to our collective efforts.”
“Thanks to our international contacts…We commend the Indonesian authorities for their decisive action in upholding the law and maintaining security,” Hontiveros said.
She said Ong would be asked what her connections were with Alice Guo and former presidential spokesman Harry Roque.
Earlier yesterday, Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said he received a report from PNP Chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil) that two of her (Guo’s) companions were detained in Indonesia.”
Remulla later confirmed the arrest and detention of the two in Indonesia, saying: “Yes, that’s true. They are detained.”
In a press briefing at Camp Crame, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said Sheila Guo and Ong were apprehended at 6:45 a.m. last Wednesday.
“The information given to us is they were held (into custody) yesterday, August 21 around 6:45 a.m.,” said Fajardo. “Since their passports were canceled, they were held.
“As to the other personalities, including Alice Guo, our coordination is continuing with (our foreign) counterparts,” said Fajardo. “Hopefully, just like the two who were held (into custody), we will be able to monitor them and take them in custody, including Mayor Alice Guo.”
Malacanang has ordered the suspension of the passports of Guo and several others, including Ong, Sheila Guo, and Wesley Leal Guo, who left the country last July. Their departure did not appear in commercial flight records or immigration records.
Abalos said the detention of Sheila Guo and Ong was the result of the coordination made by the PNP attache based in Indonesia.
Asked if the PNP helped in accosting the two, Abalos said: “Yes, It’s our police, the PNP attache there in Indonesia. That’s the report given to me by Chief PNP Marbil. It only shows that our PNP is really serious.”
Abalos, however, said they have yet to ascertain how Guo and her companions were able to leave the country.
Remulla said the fact that Ong was with Guo and her siblings in Indonesia proved “the connection between Bamban and Porac (POGO) operations.
“We found a definite connection between Alice Guo and Cassandra Li Ong, which indicates that the activities in Bamban town and Porac are closely linked. Remember, despite all the denials of former secretary Harry Roque, it appears that they are intimately related,” he added.
Guo’s alleged connection to the POGO operation in Bamban led to the filing of a qualified human trafficking case against her before the Justice Department.
Remulla said the investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Immigration on how Guo escaped from the country last month despite multiple government agencies looking for her is ongoing.
“We just have to wait for the process to roll. We cannot answer these things as if they happen every day,” Remulla said.
Remulla also explained why authorities did not summarily cancel Guo’s passport to prevent her from leaving the country amid the Senate hearings stemming from her alleged links to the illegal POGO operation and the case filed before the DOJ.
“We cannot cancel kasi because there was no summary cancellation of passports. We cannot summarily cancel a passport because it is a document vested with rights. It was not advisable to take it summarily because if the passports are canceled immediately, then how can you make them travel back to the country?” he said.
“It’s something that is a little tricky. That’s why to our best judgment we just follow the law on the cancellation of passports which will happen later,” he added.
Last Tuesday, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin asked the DOJ and the Department of Foreign Affairs to cancel the passports of Guo, her siblings Sheila and Wesley, and Ong.
Under Republic Act 11983 or the “New Philippine Passport Act,” the DFA chief may cancel the passport of an individual in the interest of national security. — With Raymond Africa, Wendell Vigilia and Gerard Naval
