MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Boying Remulla believes that dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo's immigration case takes precedence over other charges and that should be placed under the Bureau of Immigration's (BI) custody.
At a press conference on Wednesday, September 11, Remulla said the BI should be responsible for detaining Guo once her pending cases have been resolved.
"If anyone should really detain Alice Guo, it should be the Bureau of Immigration. This is because the immigration case should take precedence over everything," Remulla said.
Remulla argued that Guo's case involves significant legal violations, including her use of fraudulent documents.
"Fake passports, for being an alien, trying to pass herself off as a Filipino. I think this is a major violation of law within our country. It's really an immigration matter," he said.
The Justice chief also pointed to the possible involvement of the Department of Foreign Affairs, indicating that some individuals within the agency may have been involved with the syndicate that issued Guo's fake passport.
Remulla's comments were in response to questions on whether Guo should have been in the custody of a Regional Trial Court of Tarlac or the Sandiganbayan.
Guo has been linked to illegal operations of offshore gaming companies, or POGOs, which she was suspected to have allowed and invested in during her time as mayor in Tarlac.
National security concerns
Remulla also flagged the potential security implications of fake travel documents issued to individuals like Guo.
"From the beginning, I've been saying that there are real national security implications with these issues of fake passports and aliens getting involved in Philippine identity documents. This is very possible — there could be an espionage angle here," he said in mixed Filipino and English.
Guo escaped the Philippines in July despite an Immigration lookout bulletin issued against her and suspected associate, Cassandra Ong. During her escape, it was revealed that she used a Philippine passport which was allegedly fraudulently obtained, according to authorities.