MANILA – A former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief allegedly accepted a bribe to assist dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and her siblings in fleeing the country, despite being on an immigration watch list.

This information was revealed on Tuesday during a Senate panel investigation on illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs). Senator Risa Hontiveros asked law enforcement officials if intelligence reports indicated that a high-ranking official received a P200 million bribe to facilitate the escape.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros pressed government agencies for information regarding Guo’s covert departure from the Philippines in July during the Senate’s resumption of its investigation into illegal POGOs.

“May pinag-uusapan sa border immigration, hindi ko lang alam ang exact amount [ng bribe], including PNP official [na involved]. Hindi ko lang ma-confirm,” said Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) Security Monitoring Cluster head Raul Villanueva.

“Di ko lang alam ‘yong sa exact amount including PNP officials (I don’t know the exact amount). I cannot confirm because I’m outside of the loop lately. And we’re busy right now helping the law enforcement agencies run after the illegal POGOs in the countryside or in the provinces,” Villanueva stressed.

In response to the senator’s question on whether a specific PNP unit helped Guo escape, Villanueva claimed to have information but referred to them as “PNP personalities.”

“Hindi PNP unit but personalities. I think it was mentioned… a former Chief, PNP,” Villanueva said.

Although the intelligence reports have not yet been confirmed, Villanueva, a former military officer, stated that the former PNP chief, who has not been identified, had been receiving Guo’s monthly salary “ever since.”

“‘Yun lang po ang naririnig namin within the intelligence community,” Villanueva added.

PNP Claims No Knowledge of Intel Report

At the hearing, the PNP’s representative stated that they were unaware of any such intelligence report.

“‘Yung aming intelligence community ay tuloy-tuloy po ang pag-coordinate sa ibang agencies,” Police Brig. Gen. Raul Tacaca said, adding that if the PNP discovers evidence of bribes related to Guo’s escape, complaints would be filed.

Prior to her departure from the country in July, the former Bamban mayor allegedly offered her Filipino-Chinese acquaintance P1 billion to assist with her legal issues with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission. This information was earlier disclosed by former senator Panfilo Lacson.

Ex-Mayor Alice Guo had claimed that one of the boats they used to leave the country was a yacht, contrary to earlier claims by Sheila that they traveled to Malaysia using three different boats: a small boat, a “fishing ship,” and a small “blue or green” boat.

In early July, Guo admitted to leaving the Philippines due to “threats” from people she refused to identify.

A month ago, the former mayor was arrested in Indonesia.

📷 Sen. Risa Hontiveros FB