NBI takes custody of 2 women; Guo, brother still at large
The sister and associate of dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo were deported by Indonesian authorities to Manila yesterday amid a standing arrest order and subpoena from the Senate in connection with illegal POGO operations in the country.
Guo’s sister Sheila and business associate Cassandra Li Ong arrived at NAIA Terminal 1 at around 5 p.m. via a Philippine Airlines flight from Jakarta.
The two were immediately brought to the National Bureau of Investigation.
Justice Secretary Jesus Remulla earlier said Sheila and Ong would be debriefed first as the Bureau of Immigration prepares the necessary cases against them.
“They were intercepted in Indonesia,” said Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission spokesperson Winston Casio.
“Let me clarify the terminology. It may not technically be an arrest, but rather they are being deported primarily because they are deemed undesirable aliens…due to their connection with this criminal organization,” Casio added.
He said the apprehension of Sheila and Ong—an incorporator of the raided POGO Lucky South 99 in Porac, Pampanga—will “obviously” help in efforts to locate the dismissed mayor.
The Directorate General (DG) of Immigration in Indonesia said Sheila and Ong, along with Guo—earlier identified as the same person as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping—and her brother Wesley who are still at large, “are four fugitives from the Philippine government for their alleged involvement in immigration violations and are prime suspects in transnational crime cases.”
DG Immigration head of public relations team Achmad Nur Saleh said Batam Immigration officers made the arrest following reports that Sheila and Ong “were included in the wanted Filipino citizens in accordance with the request letter from the Department of Justice, Bureau of Immigration Philippines dated August 19.”
Saleh said the Guos and Ong booked four rooms at the Harris Hotel Batam Center for the last three days.
Shiela and Ong were caught at Mega Mall Batam Center, a mall in Riau, Indonesia, on Aug. 20.
The dismissed mayor and Ong reportedly arrived in Indonesia via a cruise ship from Singapore.
Director of Immigration Supervision and Enforcement Safar Godam said they also found out that a Singaporean national helped the four to make the hotel reservations.
Casio said in an interview that this Singaporean national was the former president of Lucky South 99.
President Marcos, for his part, thanked Indonesia for the close coordination that led to the arrest of Sheila and Ong.
“We are now in coordination with the Indonesian government and agencies, arranging for them to be brought back…Probably within a day,” Mr. Marcos said.
The Bureau of Immigration earlier said Guo departed the country on July 18, flying to Malaysia then to Singapore to meet with her relatives and Ong before proceeding to Indonesia.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, for her part, said Ong can now point to those behind the illegal POGO operations in Porac, Pampanga.
“What were the involvement of Alice Guo, (former presidential spokesperson) Harry Roque, and others (in the illegal POGO operations)?” Hontiveros said.
“This goes to show how human trafficking facilitated by POGOs is a regional problem that needs a regional, even global, solution,” she added.
Senate President Francis Escudero, for his part, said Sheila Guo will eventually stay at the Senate detention facility to ensure her attendance in the hearings looking into illegal POGO operations in the country.
The Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender led by Hontiveros will resume its hearing on Tuesday.
Ong, on the other hand, will be placed under the custody of the House of Representatives.
Timeline
• July 18 – Dismissed Bamban Mayor Guo leaves PH for Malaysia
• July 21 – Guo flies to Singapore, meets with her family
• Aug. 18 – Guo and Ong take ferry to Batam, Indonesia
• Aug. 19 – PH sends request letter to Indonesia
• Aug. 20 – Guo’s sister, Sheila, and Ong are apprehendee at Mega Mall Batam Center
• Aug. 22 – Sheila Guo and Ong are deported to Manila
