“President Marcos’ order to authorities to launch a full-dress probe of Guo’s surreptitious departure from Philippine soil despite allegations of her involvement in illegal activities offers ample proof of government’s commitment to uphold the rule of law”
Where there’s a crime, there should be commensurate punishment, if the perpetrator is found guilty by a court of law.
But what if someone accused of a crime, or even crimes, flies the coop, so to speak, to escape prosecution and disappears to parts unknown, making that individual beyond the reach of law enforcement?
It’s an established dictum in our legal system that flight is an admission or sign of guilt.
Our Supreme Court has ruled “the flight of an accused, in the absence of a credible explanation, would be a circumstance from which an inference of guilt may be established for a truly innocent person would normally grasp the first opportunity to defend himself and to assert his innocence.”
We cite here the case of Guo Hua Ping, also known as Alice Leal Guo, who claimed to be a Filipino citizen and managed to get herself elected as mayor of Bamban in Tarlac province.
Latest reports indicate she already left the country in July bound for Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, then met her parents Lin Wen Yi and Guo Jian Zhing in Singapore.
She is said to have proceeded to Denpasar and Batam in Indonesia where she is believed to be holed up at present.
Guo has been linked to an illegal POGO hub in Bamban, Tarlac raided recently by authorities.
In June, the Department of the Interior and Local Government filed graft charges against her.
The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission also filed criminal charges against her for involvement in illegal activities of POGOs in Bamban and Porac, Pampanga.
Her identity and citizenship were also scrutinized during Senate hearings on the illegal POGOs.
She wove an intricate fairy tale of growing up in a farm and being homeschooled that left lawmakers absolutely incredulous.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered her dismissal for grave misconduct for misrepresenting herself as a Filipino citizen through fake documents, including a purported birth certificate.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue also filed a tax evasion complaint against Guo after she allegedly failed to settle P500,000 in taxes.
President Marcos’ Jr. has ordered an investigation on the reported departure of Guo and sanctions on those found responsible: “The departure of Alice Guo has laid bare the corruption that undermines our justice system and erodes public trust…Let me be clear: Heads will roll.”
“We will expose the culprits who have betrayed the people’s trust and aided in her flight…A full-scale investigation is already underway, and those responsible will be suspended and will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
“There is no room in this government for anyone who places personal interest above serving the Filipino people with honor, integrity and justice,” he explained.
Coming as it does from no less than the Chief Executive, the order to authorities to launch a full-dress probe of Guo’s surreptitious departure from Philippine soil despite allegations of her involvement in illegal activities offers ample proof of government’s commitment to uphold the rule of law.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian believes the Bureau of Immigration and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines should be held accountable for Guo’s escape.
“It’s quite embarrassing what’s happening to us because it’s not just the Philippines that is watching this issue with the POGO and Guo Hua Ping. The whole world is watching.”
Gatchalian considers Guo’s escape a “temporary setback,” saying the complaints against her will proceed or even speed up if she is not physically present.
And once the case against her progresses, the dismissed mayor could be extradited to the Philippines to face the allegations and possible punishments, the senator said.
The lawmaker wants the Senate to collate all the information they have gathered on the Guo Hua Ping case and gather more information from various agencies, including the Bureau of Immigration and CAAP, among others, to prevent cases like these from causing more embarrassment for the government as a whole.
The sensational case of Guo Hua Ping has riveted the nation’s attention and understandably so, as investigation has unravelled a grand conspiracy by the dismissed local executive, along with her Chinese co-conspirators and local enablers, to use POGOs for various scams and other criminal activities.
With all POGOs now banned by President Marcos’ Jr., all those responsible for the scams and other crimes that took place behind closed doors should be punished once found guilty by our judicial system. (Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)
