EDITORIAL - Porous coasts

Thanks to alert Indonesian authorities, Alice Guo is finally returning to the Philippines. President Marcos vowed that those who were complicit in the departure of the dismissed mayor of Bamban, Tarlac would not only be sacked but also slapped with appropriate charges.

The President previously pointed to immigration authorities, which raised questions about the story narrated by Guo’s sister Shiela to the Senate. Shiela, who was apprehended earlier by Indonesian authorities along with Guo’s business partner Cassandra Li Ong, testified that she and her two siblings left the Philippines in a “small white boat,” transferred to a bigger vessel that sailed for three to four days before they transferred again to a smaller boat for their entry to Malaysia. They traveled to Singapore and then to Indonesia.

There is no immigration presence in much of the extensive coastal areas of the Philippines. Are there holes in Shiela’s story, and the President has a full picture that points to immigration collusion in the escape?

If Shiela’s story is true, it would not be the first time that fugitives have exploited the porous coastal areas to flee the country. Neighboring states in Southeast Asia, where visas are not required for Filipinos, are just a few days’ ship ride away. With about 7,640 islands and the world’s fifth longest coastline, it’s a challenge to police the coastal areas of the Philippines. But the government cannot afford to give up on the task. Much will depend on the cooperation and efficiency of local government units with coastal communities.

The national government can encourage LGU cooperation in preventing coastal areas from being used as fugitives’ escape routes, and for the smuggling of a wide range of contraband including guns, drugs and even large items such as motorcycles. This effort must be pursued even as the national government boosts its capability to monitor seaports and patrol the waters all over the archipelago.

Only Guo’s brother Wesley has yet to be brought back to the Philippines. The justice department says he is already in Hong Kong, although some immigration officials believe he is still in Indonesia. The departure of the Guo siblings has been a national embarrassment for the Philippines. There cannot be another Alice Guo.