Alice Guo’s lawyer claims dismissed Bamban mayor is still in the Philippines
Alice Guo’s camp stressed that the dismissed mayor has not fled the Philippines after Sen. Risa Hontiveros presented documents showing that Guo entered Malaysia in July.
In a phone interview with TeleRadyo Serbisyo’s Isyu Spotted on Monday, Aug. 19, Atty. Stephen David said, “Nung pumutok ‘yung ganyang balita, tinawagan ko siya (Guo). Sabi ko, ‘Hinahanap ka na naman dito. Nasaan ka ba? Nakalabas ka na ba ng Pilipinas?’ Sabi niya hindi. Sabi ko, 'Gusto kong malaman kung nandito ka sa Pilipinas o hindi para 'yung legal strategy ko, maayos ko.'”
The Department of Justice, through its spokesperson Mico Clavano, also said in a statement that Guo is still in the Philippines "as far as we know," noting that "there has been no report to us of an attempted departure from the Bureau of Immigration."
Hontiveros, earlier in the day, reported that Guo left the country on July 17 and arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 18 amid the Senate investigation on the alleged illegal activities of POGO hubs in Bamban.
The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission also confirmed the report, citing immigration records of foreign counterparts.
Guo has been subject to scrutiny since she was allegedly linked to two POGOs in her bailiwick: Hongsheng Gaming Technology Incorporated, which was raided in February 2023, and Zun Yuan Technology Incorporated, which was raided in March this year.
She was questioned as to why she was supposedly unaware of such alleged illegal activities. In past Senate hearings, she was also asked about her background to confirm her nationality, especially since she currently holds a high post in the local government.
Guo has since maintained that she's Filipino and has denied having ties to POGOs in Bamban and being a Chinese spy. She claims that she was raised on the farm of her father, was homeschooled, and that her maid of a mother left her.
But as weeks passed, authorities discovered discrepancies in several documents involving Guo, as well as holes in her stories.
In July, the Senate issued arrest orders against Guo and seven others for skipping recent hearings on the raided POGO hubs in their place.
She’s also facing other complaints in line with alleged tax evasion and human trafficking.