Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo in a Senate hearing in Pasay City on May 22, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA (3rd UPDATE) – Sen. Risa Hontiveros alleged on Monday that dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo has left the country -- which the Department of Justice denied.

Hontiveros said Guo entered Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 18. The senator presented the following proof of Guo's supposed entry to Malaysia during a Senate session.

Guo allegedly later went to Singapore and met with her father, supposed Chinese mother, and brother Wesley, who flew in from China.

"Who allowed this travesty to happen? Sino ang may kagagawan nito? Hindi makakaalis si Alice Guo kung walang tumulong sa kanya na mga opisyales ng pamahalaan. Para tayong ginisa sa sarili nating mantika," Hontiveros said.

According to government sources of ABS-CBN News, Guo allegedly used a Philippine passport when she left Manila on July 18, 2024 via Batik Air and landed on the same day in Kuala Lumpur.  

Then, on July 21, Guo boarded a Jetstar Asia Airways flight and landed in Singapore, where she stayed until early morning of August 18. She then took a ferry going to Riau, Indonesia on the same day.

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GUO 'STILL IN THE COUNTRY' - DOJ

But Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Ty said, “As far as we know, Mayor Guo is still in the country.”

"There has been no report to us of an attempted departure from the Bureau of Immigration," said the official.

He noted that Guo filed a motion for her case in the Department of Justice last Friday, to which she attached a counter affidavit that was sworn before a Philippine notary public on August 14.

"There have been reported sightings from LEAs (law enforcement agencies after July 18, 2024," Ty said.

DOJ Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano said they would gather information from both the Bureau of Immigration and the National Bureau of Investigation.

"This is a case of national significance. Thus if it is indeed true that Alice Guo has left the country, a thorough investigation is needed to hold those responsible accountable. This is not a light matter," he said.

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said he had "no info" on Guo's whereabouts.

"But the cases that we filed against Alice Guo will not be affected by her absence, as the court can still acquire jurisdiction over her person through service of process by publication," he said.

The Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) said it was waiting for official information on Guo’s whereabouts from its Malaysian and Indonesia counterparts.

Just like the DOJ, Guo’s lawyer, Atty. Stephen David, insists that Guo is still in the country.

“Tinawagan ko siya…sabi ko nakalabas ka na ba ng Pilipinas? Sabi niya, hindi. Kasi sabi ko gusto ko malaman kung nandito ka pa para ‘yung legal strategy ko maayos ko,” David told Teleradyo Serbisyo Monday.

David also said he told Guo that they have other options if she really has left the country.

“Kung wala ka na sa Pilipinas, kung yan ang decision mo, mayroon naman tayong options, sabi ko sa kanya. Kung nakalabas ka, ‘di punta tayo sa bansa na may political asylum at dun tayo gumawa ng dokumento para makalaban tayo,” he added.

BI BELIEVES GUO LEFT PH ILLEGALLY

The Bureau of Immigration, for its part, said Guo could have left the country illegally without passing through Immigration authorities, adding they have received information that she illegally travelled to Malaysia as early as July.

“We received intelligence information from our counterparts abroad that Guo illegally left for Malaysia then flew to Singapore,” BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said.

Tansingco made the statement a few days after meeting immigration heads from other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member-states in Vietnam.

Tansingco also said that Guo’s supposed departure is not recorded in the agency’s system and database.

“So far we have not received any turnover or reports related to Guo from other agencies, including those manning our maritime borders,” he stated.

NO CCTV

Sen. Raffy Tulfo said Guo could have used a private plane.

"Pag ikaw ay isang pasahero, gustong pumunta ng abroad sakay ng isang chartered plane, hindi ka na dadaan sa proseso, hindi ka na dadaan sa immigration. Derecho derecho ka na sa gate sakay ng iyong limousine, SUV and then pagdating sa tarmac aakyat na sa eroplano mo and then here comes the CIQ, Customs and Quarantine. At kung yun ay kasabwat ni Alice Guo, madaling makakalusot dahil walang CCTV na madadaanan," he said.

Sen. Grace Poe urged aviation authorities to check its records for Guo's supposed departure.

"I'm sure we have a list if they went to Malaysia. Ilan yung mga flight papuntang Malaysia? Whether it's private or a passenger plane, we should be able to determine that kasi syempre meron yang traffic di ba? They should have a master list of who had taken off for an international flight. So that's one possibility for us to able to track them," she said.

Hontiveros said there was no CCTV footage of Guo's exit.

"Hindi po na-capture ang image nya sa CCTV. So dumaan o idinaan sya sa spot na hindi mahuhuli yugn video image nya... Tama po si Sen. Grace, baka may nagturo sa kanya at hindi lang dito sa immigration natin, posible sa immigration ng iba pang ASEAN countries," she said.