PAOCC exec: Canceling PH passports may work in favor of Guos
2024-Aug-25 07:00
CAUTION. Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission spokesperson Winston John Casio cautions against canceling the Philippine passport of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City on Aug. 24, 2024. Casio said the end goal should be to hold Guo and her alleged cohorts accountable on Philippine soil. (PNA/Joan Bondoc)
MANILA – An official of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) on Saturday cautioned against canceling the Philippine passport of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and deporting her alleged sister, Shiela Guo, to China.
At the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, PAOCC spokesperson Winston John Casio said the end goal should be to hold Guo and her alleged cohorts accountable on Philippine soil.
Guo (a.k.a. Guo Hua Ping), who is being linked with illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, is facing a criminal complaint for qualified trafficking.
After discovering that she fled the country, Senator Risa Hontiveros and the Office of the President called on the Department of Justice and the Department of Foreign Affairs to cancel her passport.
But Casio explained that doing so may eventually put Guo under the protection of the United Nations.
He said a Chinese national who acquires another citizenship would find it difficult to reacquire Chinese citizenship.
"Then what would happen to Shiela, Alice, Wesley, and et al? They would become stateless individuals. I'd hate it if they would become refugees and they would fall under the framework of the United Nations Commission for Refugees," Casio said.
Wesley is also allegedly Alice and Shiela's sibling.
"Because they would take on a different legal character and they would, they would be protected by that legal character," he added.
While canceling their passports would be a huge help in limiting their travel, Casio said it would be better to let them stay as Filipino nationals in the meantime.
"'Pag naging stateless po iyan, ang laking problema natin 'yan. So let us be cautious in canceling the passport. Let them remain as Filipinos first, then papanagutin natin sila dito (If would be a bigger problem for us if they become stateless. Let them remain as Filipinos first then hold them accountable)," he said.
"Habang nasa loob ng kulungan, cancel the passport. Then, by the time na matapos ang kanilang sentensya…saka natin 'yung problemahin kung saan natin sila itatapon (When they get jailed, cancel the passport. Then, let's deal with where we're going to take them by the time their sentence is over)," he added.
Headed to Golden Triangle
Based on the initial information received by the Bureau of Immigration, Alice Guo left for Malaysia on July 19, arrived in Singapore on July 21, and traveled to Indonesia on Aug. 18.
"She will definitely not go to China in as much as she is already a person of interest as far as China is concerned because she's accused of a serious crime in the Philippines in relation to illegal gambling," Casio said, noting that China itself is strict against illegal gambling.
"As far as the PAOCC is concerned, we're confident that she's trying to get into the Golden Triangle because the family, the Guo family, has business interest, gambling interests in Cambodia. So, that would be the safest bet that we have as of this moment," he added.
The Golden Triangle comprises parts of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.
At present, there is no Interpol (international police) red notice issued against Alice Guo yet due to lack of a warrant of arrest, Casio said.
"The basis for the Red Notice, which is an international arrest warrant, is a local arrest warrant, wala pa po iyon (there's still none). The case that we filed against Alice Guo is still pending for resolution before the Department of Justice. So that is the qualified trafficking in person case," Casio explained.
Shiela Guo and companion, Katherine Cassandra Li Ong, were sent back to the Philippines on Thursday after being intercepted by Indonesian authorities on Aug. 20.
Shiela was also found to be a Chinese national named Zhang Mier.
Casio said Sheila "may be at best, a half-sister" or could just be a cousin or a distant relative of Guo.
"They are not full blood siblings – that we could be certain of," he said. (PNA)