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

MANILA -- Dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo is trying to get into the "Golden Triangle" to escape authorities, an official in charge of investigations said on Saturday, days after the arrest of the fugitive's cohorts in Indonesia.

The "Golden Triangle" refers to the crime-infested areas in Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, which are controlled by syndicates and triads.

"We are confident that she is trying to get into the Golden Triangle. The Guo family has business interests in Cambodia," said Winston Casio, spokesperson of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission.

"They are part of a big criminal organization, 'yung Fujian Gang kung saan kabilang ang mga Guo ay kabahagi ng Golden Triangle triad," he said.

Investigations showed that Guo was last seen in the Philippines on July 14 in a resort in the "western-most tip" country. A source in the area said Guo was seen boarding a speed boat, the PAOCC spokesperson said.

On July 17, she left Bali via a flight headed to Kuala Lumpur. After four days in Malaysia, she flew to Singapore, where she stayed for about a month before heading to Batam, an industrial town and transportation hub in Indonesia.

READ: Guo has left Philippines, says Hontiveros

Guo's brother Wesley "attempted to leave Batam for Hong Kong," but officials in the Chinese territory have yet to report if the former mayor's sibling has arrived, Casio said.

So far, the dismissed Bamban Mayor is still in Batam, he said.

"She (Alice Guo) will definitely not go to China. She is accused of a serious crime in relation to illegal gambling," he said, underscoring that Asia's largest economy is notorious for its crackdown and sanctions against illegal gambling operators and players.

When asked if Philippine authorities can still chase Guo once she enters the Golden Triangle, Casio said: "It depends where in the Golden Triangle she would land… Those countries are very porous in terms of boundaries."

"We will answer the question when we get there, [but] we have to prevent that from happening," he said.

Authorities could not immediately arrest Guo as Philippine agencies have yet to release an arrest warrant against her, the PAOCC official said.

"We have no red notice because there is no warrant of arrest for her yet. The cases filed against Alice Guo are still pending in the Department of Justice," he said.

READ: How Indonesian authorities busted Alice Guo's sister, alleged cohort

PAOCC AGAINST CANCELING GUO'S PASSPORT

The PAOCC also cautioned against canceling Guo's passport and her Filipino nationality as this could put the fugitive under the protection of the United Nations.

"The People's Republic of China has a policy that once you cancel your passport and acquire a new nationality, it will be very hard for you to reacquire your Chinese nationality," Casio said.

"They would become stateless. I hate it if they would become refugees and they would fall under the UN refugees because they would take on another legal character and they will be protected under that new legal character," he said.

The 1954 United Nations Convention on Statelessness guarantees that individuals who are deemed stateless have "a right to identity, travel documents and administrative assistance."

They may also be entitled to receive protection and assistance from international refugee organizations.

"Kapag naging stateless po yan, ang laking problema natin yan. Let us be cautious in canceling their passport," he said.

"We would want them to be incarcerated in the Philippines to answer all their crimes in the country," he added.

"Panatiliin muna natin silang Pilipino dito at ikulong at saka natin i-cancel ang kanilang passport," he added.

READ: DOJ to set aside Palace request to cancel Alice Guo's passport

READ: Marcos says 'heads will roll' over Alice Guo departure

ALICE GUO IS 'NOT A CRIMINAL MASTERMIND'

"Nahuli siya for putting out her life on social media. A criminal mastermind will not do that," he said.

"What complicates the investigation is hindi limited sa mga taong ito. May nakikita kaming mga koneksyon sa mga triad… This is not a run of the mill syndicate." he said.

"The operations in Bamban and in Porac involve a transnational criminal organization… It is large enough to be able to go through the different areas in ASEAN," he said, noting that the persons who facilitated Guo's recent stay in different countries "are two international criminals as well."

The Philippine government is now in the process of investigating which officials should be held liable for Guo's escape, Casio said.

"Isang criminal organization lang po yan at marami pa silang galamay sa Pilipinas na kumikilos," he said.

"Ito ay nagpapakita lamang kung gaano na kalawak yung impluwensya ng mga ito na pati local enforcement na pepenetrate na nila," he said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier said that "heads will roll" over Guo's departure from the Philippines as it "laid bare the corruption that undermines our justice system and erodes public trust."

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