Alice Guo companions detained in Indonesia: DOJ | ABS-CBN

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Alice Guo companions detained in Indonesia: DOJ

Alice Guo companions detained in Indonesia: DOJ

Adrian Ayalin,

Jauhn Etienne Villaruel,

Jamaine Punzalan,

Zyann Ambrosio,

ABS-CBN News

 | 

Updated Aug 22, 2024 05:33 PM PHT

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MANILA — Two companions of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo were detained in Indonesia, the Department of Justice said Thursday. 

The DOJ confirmed that the detained companions were Cassandra Li Ong, the representative of a company that provides services to POGOs, and Shiela Guo, the ex-mayor's sister. They now under the custody of Indonesian authorities.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the pair would be sent back to the Philippines. 

“They are passport holders where we have a suspicion they are fraudulently obtained or obtained through fraudulent means then we have reason to make them go back,” Remulla said.

Photos from ABS-CBN News sources showed Indonesian police and the Bureau of Immigration escorting Shiela Guo and Ong at an airport in Indonesia. 

Two companions of Alice Guo have been detained in Indonesia, according to government officials.

Authorities earlier said ex-Mayor Guo left the Philippines last month and went to Malaysia and Singapore, where she met with her family before heading to Indonesia this weekend. 

A photo from the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) showed Guo before she boarded the Singapore-bound Jet Star Asia airways Flight 686 on July 21. The woman talking with Go in the photo is believed to be Ong, the PAOCC said. 

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Authorities are checking if ex-Mayor Guo is still in Indonesia, said Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos. 

Guo's sister and Ong will be turned over to the police and the National Bureau of Investigation once they arrive in the Philippines, said Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos. 

“Ang pinakamahalaga rito talaga is mahanap si Alice Guo… Lumiliit na ang mundo para sa kanila dahil nakita natin ang international cooperation dito,” he told ANC.

“Questioning muna, we have to debrief them, dapat malaman namin kung ano ang nangyari,” Remulla said. “I am asking the immigration people to prepare the cases to be filed against them.”  

“Of course, we have to get to the bottom of it, paano ba lumabas ng Pilipinas iyan, especially Alice Guo,” he added.


But Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian noted that Shiela Guo “has an outstanding order of arrest here in the Senate.” 

“As soon as she arrives here in the Philippines…the Senate will take custody of her,” he said. 

Sen  Risa Hontiveros said Shiela Guo and Ong’s apprehension was “a promising development, and a testament to our collective efforts.”

“This goes to show how human trafficking facilitated by POGOs is a regional problem that needs a regional, even global, solution,” she said. 


The senator said Ong could shed light on who should be held responsible for the operations of the Lucky South 99 POGO in Porac, Pampanga, as well as who helped ex-Mayor Guo leave the Philippines. 


“At bakit butas-butas ang sistema natin sa immigration? Naniniwala ako na masasagot lahat yan sa ating susunod na hearing,” Hontiveros said. 


“Inaasahan ko rin ang pagdalo ni Cassandra Li Ong at Sheila Guo sa ating hearing sa Martes. Mananagot sila sa pag-iwas nila sa Senado,” she added. 


The Philippine government recently sought the cancellation of the passports of Guo, her siblings Wesley and Shiela, and Ong. 

The Interpol have also been alerted to locate the 4 individuals.  

But Remulla admitted that the request of Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin to cancel the passports of Guo and her supposed companions cannot be done easily.

“We cannot cancel kasi wala namang summary cancellation of passports eh we cannot summarily cancel a passport because it is a document vested with rights. It was not found advisable also to summarily, to treat it summarily, because if the passports are canceled immediately then how can you make them travel back to the country,” he said.

He added that the incident in Indonesia proves the connection between Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations in Bamban, Tarlac and Porac, Pampanga.

“We found the connection between Alice Guo and Cassandra Li Ong, definite connection was found, which means that Bamban and Porac are closely related,” Remulla said.

 



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