BI anticipates Alice Guo return to PH within the week

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday said they are expecting dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo to be flown back to the Philippines within the week.

“We are anticipating that we will be expecting this po siguro (maybe) within the week,” Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval said in an interview on Balitanghali.

Asked if it was unlikely for Guo to return today, Sandoval said they “believed so.”

Sandoval said they are already coordinating with the Indonesian authorities.

In another interview, Sandoval said that Guo will also undergo booking procedures once she arrives in Manila.

Guo is also facing deportation case with the BI for undesirability and possible misrepresentation as a Filipino national.

But the BI said that they have to wait for the resolution on her other cases before it can deport Guo.

“Kahit mauna po matapos o ma-conclude yung immigration case (Even though her immigration case would be the first one to be resolved), we would have to wait for the resolution of her other pending cases here in the Philippines before we can implement any deportation,” Sandoval explained at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing.

GMA News Online has sought comment from Guo's camp but has yet to receive a response as of posting time.

Earlier, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the National Bureau of Investigation confirmed that Guo, also identified as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, was apprehended in Tangerang City, Indonesia.

According to Sandoval, Guo was apprehended due to being an illegal alien.

Meanwhile, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that they have forwarded to the Department of Justice and the Office of the Executive Secretary the information they received regarding Guo's arrest.

“We are anticipating her return to the Philippines soon,” he said in a separate statement.

Guo was revealed to have left the country in July.

During a hearing last week, Shiela Guo, the former mayor’s purported sister, said that she, Guo, and Wesley Guo left through several boats.

READ: TIMELINE: The escape of Alice Guo and her siblings

Guo is facing a human trafficking complaint in relation to the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Bamban as well as a money laundering complaint before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

A quo warranto petition has also been filed against her before a Manila court as well as a petition to cancel her birth certificate before a Tarlac court. —KG, GMA Integrated News