MANILA, Philippines – A day after authorities confirmed that Alice Guo already left the country back in July, Malacañang ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to cancel the passport of the dismissed mayor of Bamban, Tarlac.
In a memorandum issued on Tuesday, August 20, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin directed DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo and the Department of Justice to cancel the passports of Guo and her siblings, Wesley and Sheila.
The order also included Katherine Cassandra Ong, who was implicated in the Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) controversy along with Guo.
“It is worthy to note that currently, the Senate issued arrest warrants against Guo and her family for unduly refusing to appear, despite due notices, [in] its probe into the illegal activities of [POGOs]. A criminal complaint has also been filed against her for qualified trafficking, and other cases are likewise being prepared for her alleged involvement in POGO operations,” Bersamin said in his memorandum.
The memorandum also noted that Ong was recently cited in contempt by the House of Representatives for failing to attend hearings on POGOs. An arrest order usually follows a contempt order, as in the case of Guo.
Republic Act No. 11983 or the New Philippine Passport Act empowers the DFA chief to issue, deny, or cancel someone’s passport “in the interest of national security, public safety, and public health.” Among the grounds that can be used are when the holder has been convicted of a criminal offense, the holder is a fugitive from justice, or when the passport was acquired fraudulently.
A person whose passport has been canceled becomes an undocumented alien, and countries can deport undocumented aliens back to their country of origin because they have no legal document to back their stay in a foreign country.
Earlier on Tuesday, Senator Risa Hontiveros urged the DFA to cancel Guo’s passport.
“Canceling her passport will limit her travels. Mas madali siya matutunton kapag hindi siya gala nang gala (It would be easier to track her down if she cannot move around). And besides, she does not have the right to use a Philippine passport in the first place,” the opposition senator said.
As early as July 11, the Senate had already ordered Guo’s arrest. She has also been under the lookout bulletin of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) since June, after a non-bailable trafficking complaint was filed against her over her alleged ties to an illegal POGO raided in her town.
On Monday, August 19, Hontiveros revealed that Guo flew to Malaysia on July 18, and then later met her father Guo Jian Zhong, mother Lin Wen Yu, brother Wesley, and Ong in Singapore. An intelligence source told Rappler that Guo arrived in Singapore on July 21 onboard Jetstar Asia Airways through the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, then left for Batam, Indonesia, via ferry just last Sunday, August 18. Later, the BI confirmed that Guo has indeed left the Philippines.
Aside from the trafficking complaint, Guo was also sued for tax evasion by the Bureau of Internal Revenue for failing to pay taxes when she sold her shares in Baofu Land Development, the real estate company that leased its compound to the raided POGO.
Guo was dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman after she was found guilty of grave misconduct over her ties to the raided POGO. She is perpetually barred from reentering government service. – Rappler.com
