Senator Risa Hontiveros has urged the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to immediately cancel the Philippine passport of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, who is also known as the Chinese citizen Guo Hua Ping. This comes after Hontiveros revealed that Guo left the Philippines on July 18, traveling to Malaysia, Singapore, and most recently, Indonesia.
Hontiveros condemned Guo for using a Philippine passport to escape, calling her a "fake Filipino" and stressing that her passport should be made null and void to limit her ability to travel. "Cancelling her passport will limit her travels. It would be easier to locate her if she cannot move from one place to another," Hontiveros said, adding that Guo does not have the right to use a Philippine passport in the first place.
The senator criticized the lack of interagency coordination that allowed Guo to leave the country despite confirmed reports that her Filipino citizenship was falsified. Hontiveros emphasized that Guo's passport should have been canceled immediately after this was discovered.
Guo's lawyer, Stephen David, claimed that Guo is still in the Philippines, although he admitted he cannot confirm her exact location. However, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) confirmed that Guo had left the country, traveling across Southeast Asia, and is currently in Indonesia.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco noted that Guo managed to leave the Philippines without passing through official immigration channels. The BI is now investigating her movements and the possible involvement of immigration officials in her escape.
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