Opinion

BBM, how did Guo flee? Hindi ko na po alam

GOTCHA - Jarius Bondoc - The Philippine Star

August 23, 2024 | 12:00am

Filipinos shrug off accounts of Bongbong Marcos snorting cocaine. But they won’t forgive his admin for letting Alice Guo escape. Not after they warned him in all media for four months.

Guo epitomizes crime. Authorities say she masterminded or abetted:

(1) high stakes gambling, (2) cyber-scamming, (3) human trafficking, (4) woman and child abuse, (5) abduction, (6) serious illegal detention, (7) torture, (8) prostitution;

(9) gunrunning, (10) harboring criminals, (11) conspiracy, (12) multibillion-peso illegal wealth, (13) money laundering, (14) tax evasion, (15) vehicle smuggling, (16) unregistered businesses;

(17) bribery, (18) graft, (19) corruption, (20) plunder, (21) dummying, (22) falsification of public documents, (23) serious dishonesty in fake SALNs and credentials, (24) perjury;

(25) forgery, (26) identity theft, (27) fake citizenship, (28) fake land titling, (29) illegal excavation, (30) illegal construction, (31) illegal occupancy, (32) environment noncompliance, (33) pollution;

(34) election mockery, (35) vote buying, (36) living beyond her town mayor’s salary, (37) eluding arrest warrant, (38) eluding Quarantine, (39) eluding Immigration, (40) eluding Customs.

Worst, (41) infiltration and spying for Communist China.

Guo was hot news. The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission raided her Bamban, Tarlac gangland on March 25. Evidence of her 41 offenses surfaced.

Many times she lied about her parentage. She concocted homeschooling in a farm with only piglets as playmates under imaginary Teacher Rubilyn. She concealed her siblings, Grace Christian School years and Valenzuela City embroidery shop.

She feigned innocence of all illegalities, then went into hiding. Like two impeached presidents and a chief justice, she claimed through glib lawyers to be bedridden.

Though laughing at her memes, Filipinos worldwide suspected that she’d flee via more bribery.

Blogcasts since June were alarming. They repeatedly exposed P200-million weekly “protection money” from illegal POGOs to bigwigs at the Departments of Justice and of the Interior. Those should’ve spurred probes.

But no action by BBM.

On June 4 the ombudsman suspended Guo as mayor. Only then did PNP headquarters, under DILG, belatedly replace the 49-man Bamban police force and chastise the Tarlac provincial director.

Also on June 4, Bamban’s twin illicit POGO hub in adjacent Porac, Pampanga was raided. Same 41 offenses were uncovered plus narco-trafficking and nine murders. The Porac police chief was removed, the Pampanga provincial head rebuked and the Central Luzon regional general put on notice.

PNP didn’t track down Guo, her family and fellow fugitive Cassandra Li Ong. Only by chance was Porac gangboss Zhang Jie intercepted on June 23 at Davao City Airport for defective alien papers.

Still no action from BBM.

Cases piled up against Guo. For nullification of mayoralty election, by Office of the Solicitor General. For falsification of birth record, by Philippine Statistics Authority. For cybercrime, by NBI. For heinous human trafficking, by PAOCC.

Her escape was imminent.

DILG, PNP and its Aviation and Maritime Commands should’ve issued all-points bulletins, but didn’t. June 21, DOJ and its Bureau of Immigration publicized an “International Lookout for Guo and 17 others.” No names of the 17; just a joint press statement on DOJ and BI’s websites.

It looked like the P200-million weekly payola was working.

Again, no action by BBM.

On July 10 the Senate ordered Guo’s arrest for contempt. In his State of the Nation Address on July 22, BBM ordered “closure of all POGOs by yearend.” Eclipsed was the bigger issue of his admin’s theft of PhilHealth members’ P90 billion for pork barrels.

It turned out that Guo had already fled on July 18. First from Philippines to Bali by unknown chartered jet or yacht; no commercial flight or sail record. Then Kuala Lumpur by Batik Air Flight 177. Onto Singapore on July 21 by Jetstar Asia Flight 686.

In Singapore Guo partied with father Jian Zhong Guo, mother Wen Yi Lin, sister Shiela Guo, brother Wesley Guo and accomplice Cassandra Li Ong. Only on Aug. 6 did DOJ-BI order a lookout for Ong, her lawyer Harry Roque and ten more. On Aug. 18 Guo ferried to Batham, Indonesia.

Senator Risa Hontiveros bared those on Aug. 19. DOJ-BI and DILG-PNP were caught flatfooted.

At last BBM said heads will roll.

Read Gotcha, July 3, 2024, “If Alice Guo escapes Manila, whom should Filipinos butcher?”