Marcos on Alice Guo departure: Heads will roll

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said an investigation is underway on the reported departure of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and that sanctions will be implemented.

"The departure of Alice Guo has laid bare the corruption that undermines our justice system and erodes public trust," said Marcos in a statement posted via social media early Wednesday morning.

"Let me be clear: Heads will roll," he underscored.

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— Bongbong Marcos (@bongbongmarcos) August 20, 2024

The statement was issued after Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Tuesday ordered the cancellation of Guo’s Philippine passport following the disclosure of Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday that Guo, who was also identified as Chinese citizen Guo Hua Ping, left the country on July 18 for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Asked if Marcos has imposed a deadline on the investigation, Bersamin said, “Understood as ‘as soon as feasible.’”

Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval confirmed on Monday that Guo is currently in Indonesia.

Bersamin, in his memorandum, noted that Guo is the subject of a Senate arrest order for her repeated failure to attend the Senate inquiry on illegal POGO activities.  

He also cited the New Philippine Passport Act.

Marcos, meanwhile, pledged to go after those who facilitated Guo's departure from the country.

"We will expose the culprits who have betrayed the people's trust and aided in her flight," the President said.

"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 added.

When asked if Marcos intends to cast a wider net on the issue aside from the probe of the Department of Justice, Bersamin said, “Ask DOJ.”

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Tuesday warned Immigration personnel who may have had a hand in the “escape” of Guo to come out and tell the truth or “heads will roll.”

Remulla issued the remark as he ordered the National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to look into Guo’s departure.

Guo has been linked to an illegal POGO hub in Bamban, Tarlac raided by authorities. In June, the Department of the Interior and Local Government filed graft charges against her in this regard.

Her identity and citizenship were also questioned during Senate hearings on the illegal POGOs.

Last week, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered her dismissal for grave misconduct.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue also filed a tax evasion complaint against Guo after she allegedly failed to settle P500,000 in taxes.

READ: TIMELINE: The plots and twists of the 'Alice Guo' probe

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) meanwhile said it will continue its investigation against Guo despite her alleged departure from the country.

The Senate committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality will schedule a hearing to investigate the "trail" of Guo, Hontiveros, chairperson of the committee, said on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Hontiveros said the Department of Foreign Affairs has already reported the passports of Guo and her other relatives to the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime or the country's national central bureau of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). —with a report from Anna Felicia Bajo/BAP/KG, GMA Integrated News