No proof of bribery of Immigration personnel in Alice Guo’s escape — BI chief

There is no evidence that Immigration personnel were bribed to help dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Alice Guo and other high-profile individuals linked to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) escape from the Philippines, Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Joel Viado said Tuesday.

During his presentation at the continuation of the Senate hearing into Guo’s escape, Viado maintained that Guo did not pass through any formal channels when she left the Philippines last year.

“Let me address the elephant in the room. So many people wish to hear that the POGOs paid an immigration officer in one of the air or seaports so that these bad people can escape our shores, but there is simply no proof or evidence to that effect,” Viado said.

“We have been begging any witnesses from any official airport or seaport to come forward for four months now to give proof on anything related particularly to Alice Guo and her siblings. This is the case despite all the thousands of surveillance, CCTV cameras, smartphones all passengers hold while in airports,” he added.

Viado committed to the Senate subcommittee on justice and human rights that they will “act swiftly” once they get any proof that will back the bribery theory.

Like the theories presented by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) in the last hearing, the BI believes that Alice Guo “most likely left the country via a backdoor exit.”

“She may have entered Sabah by crossing Tawi-Tawi,” Viado added.

He cited the study of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking which pointed out that locals of Zamboanga, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi areas “have been known to travel to Sabah without undergoing passport clearance since they have been doing this since time immemorial.”

NICA Deputy Director General Ashley Acedillo presented two escape routes of Guo based on their investigation that are via Palawan and Tawi-Tawi.

According to Acedillo, it is possible for Guo to travel from Tarlac to Batangas port by land, then to Coron port by sea, then from Coron airstrip to any airport in the southern Palawan by air.

“Notably in Palawan, there are seven airstrips located in the area that could be one of the exit points of Guo,” Acedillo said.

“Guo possibly stayed at port areas in Palawan such as Brooke’s Point, Rio Tuba, or Buliluyan before heading to Kudat, Sabah by sea. From Kudat, she travelled to Kota Kinabalu… by land, and from Kota Kinabalu, Guo boarded a flight at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport for Singapore,” he said.

According to Acedillo, there is a counter-setting scheme where foreigners are allowed to enter the country without proper inspection by being directed to designated counters at immigration entry points.

Another possible route is through Tawi-Tawi where Guo possibly could have travelled from Tarlac to Batangas port by land, then from Batangas port to Balabac, Palawan by air, then from the airstrip of Balabac to Tawi-Tawi by sea.

“From Tawi-Tawi travelled to either Lahad Datu or Semporna both in Sabah by sea, and there from Lahad Datu or Semporna travelled by air going to Kuala Lumpur International Airport for her flight to Singapore,” he added.

These two theories are different from the theory presented by NICA Director Ferlu Silvio last hearing where he said that Guo and her supposed siblings might have exited through the so-called "backdoor" in the Southern part of the Philippines going to Kota Kinabalu before going to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where they started their journey to Batam, Indonesia. 

According to Silvio, they found out about Kota Kinabalu when they obtained a copy of a document showing that Shiela Guo — the supposed sister of Alice — entered the city.

"Actually the sister of Alice Guo pumasok siya allegedly…Sheila Guo entered, medyo malabo kasi, dun po sa KK o Kota Kinabalu… Meron po doon sa aming nakuha, medyo malabo nga lang, but nakikita doon Kinabalu. So, we presume na ang jump off point from the Philippines is Kota Kinabalu," Silvio said.

"Possibly, from KK then to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and there from KLIA 1 to Singapore Airport, Changi and then, nag-ferry na po sila from Singapore to Batam Indonesia… Confirmed na po 'yun. As to the question of how Alice Guo was able to leave the Philippines, ito po yung gaps na tinitingnan po namin," he added.

Silvio explained that in Kota Kinabalu, there are "many points" and airports in the eastern part of Sabah where the Guo siblings could travel from.

In October 2024, BI Commissioner Joel Viado said Guo entered Malaysia via a flight that landed on July 18, 2024.

When asked if this means that their claims that they left the country via boat are false, Viado said authorities “may presume that.”

He said there was no record of Guo’s entry into Sabah on July 19.

“If she went to Malaysia via sea it might have been through Sabah and there’s no record of entry of Alice Guo into Sabah,” said the Immigration official. — BAP, GMA Integrated News