Push Admin

Article (news)

Jonathan Frederic De Santos

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — A pre-midnight raid in Tangerang City in Indonesia last Tuesday ended dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo’s great escape from the country that began with furtive boat rides to Malaysia.</p><p>Fetched by private jet by Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos and national police chief Rommel Marbil, Guo was <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/6/alice-guo-returns-to-tarlac-to-face-court-1151">brought to a court in Capas, Tarlac </a>that had ordered her arrest for graft and then to the Philippine National Police Custodial Center, the detention center for senators and other high-level persons deprived of liberty.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/6/alice-guo-to-occupy-de-lima-s-old-detention-room-pnp-1611">READ: Alice Guo to occupy De Lima&#x27;s old detention room — PNP</a></div><p>She is due to testify at the Senate, which cited her in contempt and ordered her arrest for skipping hearings, on Monday but her lawyer said Saturday that she might not be as forthright as senators would want because of the cases already pending against her.</p><p>&quot;Ano ine-expect mo? Na tulungan sila ng isang nasasakdal?&quot; <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/7/lawyer-pending-cases-may-keep-alice-guo-from-telling-all-at-senate-hearing-1133">lawyer Stephen David said Saturday on Teleradyo Serbisyo.</a></p><p>(What do they expect? That the accused will help them?) </p><p>In the same interview, David said Guo opted to stay in PNP custody because she feels she is safer there than at the Senate, which has its own detention area and security unit.</p><p>Guo had cited death threats and security concerns as among the reasons she snuck out of the country in July, all while government agencies and her lawyer had assured the public that she was still in the Philippines.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/5/alice-guo-tells-ph-authorities-why-she-fled-1835">READ: Alice Guo tells PH authorities why she fled</a></div><div><strong>ALICE&#x27;S LIFE IN INDONESIA</strong></div><p>Guo entered Indonesia from Singapore “like an ordinary person from overseas country coming to Indonesia,” according to Inspector General Krishna Murti of the Indonesian National Police’s Internal Relations Division, since there was no Interpol notice for her.</p><p>Indonesian police only began looking for her after the Philippine National Police requested assistance in finding her, which Jakarta-based Tempo news magazine reports led to a three-week search.</p><p>Murti also credited the strong relations between the Philippines and Indonesia for the coordination on the search for and arrest of Guo, according to Tempo.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/6/guo-had-up-to-6-foreign-protectors-hid-at-monk-s-house-indonesian-official-1536">RELATED: Guo had up to 6 foreign &#x27;supporters&#x27;, hid at monk’s house — Indonesian official</a></div><p>While in Indonesia — she reportedly went to Batam, Jakarta, Bandung, and finally,  Tangerang — Guo had the help of Chinese and Indonesian “supporters” who handled her transactions, including renting cars, paying for hotels, and processing money transfers in exchange for cash.</p><p>Authorities finally found her in a villa in Tangerang City, which is just outside Jakarta and where Soekarno–Hatta International Airport is, triggering frantic moves from the Philippine government to secure her as well as jokes on social media about how foreign governments have better luck finding Filipino fugitives.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/4/timeline-alice-guo-s-secret-escape-from-ph-and-arrest-in-indonesia-1118">TIMELINE: Alice Guo&#x27;s secret escape from PH and arrest in Indonesia</a></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NZhOog2F8sw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div><div><strong>SELFIES AND &#x27;DOUBLE STANDARDS&#x27;</strong></div><p>The Guos&#x27; escape from the Philippines — supposed sister Shiela Guo was <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/8/28/doj-orders-case-filing-vs-shiela-guo-cassandra-ong-1105">detained by Indonesian authorities and deported alongside </a> <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/8/28/doj-orders-case-filing-vs-shiela-guo-cassandra-ong-1105">POGO hub representative Cassandra Ong</a> <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/8/28/doj-orders-case-filing-vs-shiela-guo-cassandra-ong-1105"> </a>while Wesley Guo remains at large — has prompted an investigation into the Bureau of Immigration, a scandal-wracked agency that has also earned a reputation of being strict on Filipinos waiting to get on flights abroad.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/7/dilg-coordinating-with-intl-agencies-for-wesley-guos-return-to-ph-abalos-1246">RELATED: DILG coordinating with int&#x27;l agencies for Wesley Guo&#x27;s return to PH — Abalos</a></div><p>News of government officials using a chartered aircraft to pick her up, as well as handout photos of these officials smiling and posing for photographs with her, have <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/5/villanueva-blasts-gov-t-employees-taking-photos-with-alice-guo-2119">raised concerns of impropriety</a>.</p><p>Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who has been leading hearings into POGOs as well as into the Bureau of Immigration, reminded officials that <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/6/marcos-says-alice-guo-selfies-with-officials-part-of-the-new-culture-1256">Guo is a fugitive and not a celebrity</a>. </p><p>&quot;We want answers, not a photoshoot,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;Matapos niyang makipag-taguan sa batas, ginawa namang fan-meet nitong si Alice Guo ang pagkakaaresto niya.&quot;</p><p>(After evading the law, Alice Guo has turned her arrest into a fan meet.)</p><p>Abalos has since said government personnel were just happy that the search for Guo was over, and has pleaded with the public not to judge him based on one photograph.</p><p>But government critics, <a href="https://x.com/natoreyes/status/1831681505694978547">including Bagong Alyansang Makabayan president Renato Reyes</a>, noted the stark contrast in the treatment of Guo and of dissidents like activists and like former Sen. Leila De Lima.</p><p>“[Guo’s] cheerful demeanor during her arrest, and the sense of security she projects, underscores the deep disparity in the justice system,” Amirah Lidasan, co-chairperson of Moro and IP activist group Sandugo said in a statement on Saturday.</p><p>&quot;In sharp contrast, Moro and Indigenous Peoples, the marginalized sector that the government must serve, are harassed and tortured into arrests and abductions. The innocent are labelled as ‘terrorists’ when all they did was fight for their rights,&quot; she also said.</p><p>President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has played down the selfies, saying the photographs may have been part of the &quot;new culture&quot; brought by social media.</p><p>&quot;Ang tawag natin sa Pilipinas, we are the selfie capital of the world di ba. Eh di nag-selfie. Hindi mo naman mapigilan ang tao na ngumiti,” he said.</p><p>(We are the selfie capital of the world, right? So, they took selfies. You cannot prevent anyone from smiling)</p><p>Guo lawyer David on Saturday said that it is in Guo&#x27;s nature to be friendly and all smiles.</p><p>&quot;&#x27;Yan ang kanyang pamamaraan para ipakita niya sa mga supporters niya, sa mga naniniwala sa kanya, sa pamilya niya, kung sino nakakita sa kanya na &#x27;OK ako, huwag niyo akong intindihin, para hindi kayo nag-aalala, OK ako dito,&quot; he said.</p><p>(That is her way to show her supporters and family that she is safe. She is saying &#x27;I&#x27;m OK, don&#x27;t worry about me&#x27;.)</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HGiUzAILPDs?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div><div><strong>WHAT&#x27;S NEXT FOR ALICE GUO?</strong></div><p>Apart from the graft case, Guo also faces potential money laundering and human trafficking cases pending at the Department of Justice, graft raps at the Office of the Ombudsman, a petition from the Office of the Solicitor General questioning her qualifications to hold office, and a case at the Commission on Elections for alleged misrepresentation on her certificate of candidacy for the 2022 elections.</p><p>If proven to be Chinese national Guo Hua Ping as fingerprint analysis by the National Bureau of Investigation suggests, she may also be subject to deportation proceedings.</p><p>Guo seems the &quot;most guilty&quot; in the illegal POGO mess for now, the DOJ said Saturday, <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/7/doj-alice-guo-not-qualified-for-witness-protection-program-at-this-time-1456">making her ineligible for the Witness Protection Program </a>unless they find indications of a &quot;bigger fish&quot; in the operation.</p><p>Abalos has said he is convinced that Guo could not have handled the illegal POGO operations alone, and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission is convinced that she and her family have links to a &quot;Fujian Gang&quot; that has gambling links all the way to the Golden Triangle.</p><p>Government investigation into Guo&#x27;s potential accomplices in her and her &quot;siblings&quot;&#x27; escape is ongoing and the DOJ hopes to complete its report within the month.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/7/doj-eyes-completion-of-probe-on-officials-involved-in-guos-escape-this-month-1305">READ: Probe on officials involved in Alice Guo&#x27;s escape to be completed &#x27;perhaps this month&#x27; — DOJ</a></div><p>In the meantime, the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality is set to resume its inquiry into illegal POGOs next week.</p><p>&quot;Tingnan natin kung gaano sya ka-photogenic sa hearing sa Lunes. Unli-pictures siya doon,&quot; Hontiveros said this week.</p><p>(Let&#x27;s see if she will be as photogenic at the hearing on Monday. She can have an unlimited number of pictures taken there.) </p><div><strong>— from reporting by Jauhn Etienne Villaruel, Zyann Ambrosio and Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JvyATZ_J8EQ?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div>

<p>Guo had cited death threats and security concerns as among the reasons she snuck out of the country in July, all while government agencies and her lawyer had assured the public that she was still in the Philippines.</p>

Guo had cited death threats and security concerns as among the reasons she snuck out of the country in July, all while government agencies and her lawyer had assured the public that she was still in the Philippines.

Alice Guo’s great escape began on small boats, ends in private jet after Indonesia arrest

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

News

Alice Guo’s great escape began on small boats, ends in private jet after Indonesia arrest

Jonathan Frederic De Santos,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 07, 2024 07:14 PM PHT

|

Updated Sep 07, 2024 10:51 PM PHT

Read More:

Alice Guo

Risa Hontiveros

Benhur Abalos

Rommel Marbil

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.