BI: Still no info on aircraft that flew Alice Guo to Malaysia

Four months after dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo fled the Philippines, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) still has no information about the aircraft that flew her to Malaysia.

This was disclosed by the BI through Senator Grace Poe during the continuation of the Senate plenary deliberations on the proposed 2025 national budget on Wednesday, when Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada asked the bureau for updates on Guo's escape in July.

"What was confirmed is that she entered Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, [but] the actual flight, they are still going through official channels to verify the aircraft and they are trying to cooperate with Kuala Lumpur to get that information," Poe, who defends the BI's proposed budget, said.

"Tayo, wala tayong flight number or manifest na nakaalis siya ng ating bansa," Poe lamented, noting that the Philippine authorities are "letting the others do the job for us."

(We don't have a flight number or a manifest showing that she had left the country.)

Guo, under investigation by the Senate for her alleged involvement in the POGO activities in Bamban, fled for Malaysia in July. She was arrested in Indonesia on September 4 and brought back to the Philippines. She is currently detained at the Pasig City Jail.

During the Senate investigation on POGOs in October, BI Commissioner Joel Viado said Guo entered Malaysia via a flight that landed on July 18, 2024.

This is contrary to the testimony of Guo and her purported sister Shiela Guo, who claimed that they left the country by taking several boats in the first week of July.

It was Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros who first disclosed that Guo had left the country last July through a privilege speech.

Estrada reiterated his theory that Guo might have used a small airport to flee the Philippines via chartered flight.

"I've said this, I've mentioned this every time we have this hearing, Alice Guo might have escaped using a private plane going through a small airport like for example Samar or basta 'yung maliliit na airstrips na kayang mag-landing ang maliliit na eroplano na walang bantay na CAAP, na walang bantay na tao ng Bureau of Immigration," he said.

(Alice Guo might have escaped using a private plane going through a small airport like the ones in Samar or any of those small airstrips where a small plane can land without people from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and the BI monitoring.)

"If we continue to neglect this problem, not to give attention to this problem, there will be a lot of fugitives that can evade arrest and just flee our country. That’s why something must be done," Estrada said and asked the BI how to address these loopholes.

Poe acknowledged the problem and further noted that there are also private airports where authorities cannot monitor the flights.

"Ngayon ang ginawa natin sa lahat ng mga chartered flights, bago sila makaalis, 'yung Immigration officer, pupuntahan sila doon sa hangar, may mobile device to check their identity, et cetera, bago payagan ng air traffic control na makaalis sila," Poe said.

(For all chartered flights, the Immigration officers must go to the hangar to check the identity of the everyone aboard before they give clearance for the flight to depart.)

"We're banking on the honesty of our officials to be able to comply with these processes," she added.

Poe said they will ask the Department of Transportation about its processes in monitoring all air activity within the country.

In October, the BI also said that Guo's flight to Malaysia might have taken off from a private airstrip.

Guo is facing a qualified human trafficking case before a Pasig court and a graft case before a Valenzuela court due to her alleged involvement in the POGO hub in Bamban, Tarlac where she formerly served as mayor.

The dismissed mayor is also facing a tax evasion complaint, 87 counts for money laundering, and a perjury and falsification complaint before the Justice Department. — BM, GMA Integrated News