MANILA — Shiela Guo, now in the custody of the Philippine Senate, testified Tuesday before a tripartite committee investigating the suspected escape of her sister, ousted Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo.

In her opening comments, Senate Deputy Minority Leader and presiding officer Risa Hontiveros—chairperson of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality—stated that the hearing’s goal is to establish the truth about the incident.

Earlier, Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel III, head of the Senate Committee on Justice, stated that one of the issues they aim to address is the former Bamban mayor’s point of exit from the Philippines.

Furthermore, the senator announced that the Department of Foreign Affairs would also be invited, pointing out that it was necessary to figure out how to prevent people considered to be “fugitives from justice” from using their passports.

“Nakatakas gamit ang passport ng Pilipinas, ano ang ating remedyo?” Pimentel said.

Guo Escaped via Boat

Shiela Guo told senators that she, her sister, former Bamban Mayor Alice Guo, and their brother Wesley escaped the country by sea.

“Sumakay po kami ng boat sa dagat,” Shiela Guo said.

“Dito lang po kasi kami galing sa bahay (sa Bamban), tapos may sundo sa amin na isang sasakyan, van. Hindi ko po alam kung saan yung lugar. Siguro bumiyahe kami ng ilang oras, kaming tatlo, si Alice, at saka si Wesley,” she added.

Shiela further stated that they traveled to Sabah, Malaysia, by way of a white boat, a larger ship, and finally a smaller boat.

Guo Escaped Through Backdoor to Malaysia

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) reported that the Guo siblings exited the country without using a public port, which might have been used to track their whereabouts.

“Yung sinasabi niya na bumiyahe sila ng 4-6 hours via bangka para papuntang Malaysia. Ang teorya po namin diyan ay sumakay sila ng bangka, speedboat sa bandang Bongao, Tawi-Tawi,” NBI Director Jaime Santiago said.

“Pero dahil walang marka ang kanyang passport ng labas niya sa Pilipinas, ang theory po namin ay gumamit talaga ng back door,” Santiago added.

Coast Guard Vice Admiral Rolando Punzalan agreed that Zamboanga and Tawi-Tawi are viable backdoor routes, but emphasized that the majority of the seacraft they are tasked with inspecting are passenger vessels.

“The main mandate of (the) Coast Guard is maritime safety, environmental protection, and maritime security,” Punzalan said.

“We are in the process of recruiting more people, establishing more posts where we can fully enforce and implement controls in addition to our basic mandates in support of other mandates like immigration,” Punzalan added.

Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros, who presided over the inquiry, stated that the subcommittee will need to arrange additional hearings since “there are still even more questions than answers so far.”

According to Hontiveros, the panel will also need to resolve a contradiction of information regarding Alice Guo and her siblings’ arrival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 18, yet her passport bears a Sabah stamp dated July 19.

“From Kuala Lumpur to Sabah, dapat din wala nang stamp kasi it’s the same country. So, how can she be also in two places in almost the same time?” the senator said.

📷 Sen. Risa Hontiveros FB