#ReportersNotebook: “Finding Alice”
Aired (August 24, 2024): Kinumpirma ni Sen. Risa Hontiveros at ilang intelligence information na nakalabas na ng Pilipinas si Dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo nang hindi dumadaan sa immigration authorities ng bansa.
Paano siya nakaalis ng 'Pinas?
#GMAPublicAffairs #GMADocumentaries #ReportersNotebook
Aired (August 24, 2024): Kinumpirma ni Sen. Risa Hontiveros at ilang intelligence information na nakalabas na ng Pilipinas si Dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo nang hindi dumadaan sa immigration authorities ng bansa.
Paano siya nakaalis ng 'Pinas?
#GMAPublicAffairs #GMADocumentaries #ReportersNotebook
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FunTranscript
00:00Your Honor, I don't remember him very well now, can I check?
00:07I really don't remember anything.
00:09Your Honor, I don't know. I don't remember having any records.
00:15What? Don't be a robot!
00:17Her name became controversial after she was caught in an illegal operation by the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator or POGO Hub in Tarlac.
00:27We are not involved in any POGO operation, Your Honor.
00:31I have nothing to do with their operation and with anything that POGO does inside and outside.
00:38The former mayor of Bambantarla, Alice Leal Goh.
00:42In the Senate, the investigation on POGO and her true identity was suspended.
00:47I grew up in a farm, Your Honor.
00:49My father hid me.
00:51I grew up alone.
00:53Apparently, Goh Huaping or Alice Goh did not grow up in a farm.
00:59She was also not homeschooled.
01:01She studied.
01:03She studied in the same school as me, Grace Christian High School.
01:07And as far as I can remember, there was no farm in our school.
01:11It was all buildings.
01:12She did not hide in the following hearings.
01:15Goh was found.
01:17Her addresses were searched.
01:19But she was not found.
01:21This August 19, it was revealed that she was out of the country.
01:26Who allowed this travesty to happen?
01:29Who has the ability to do this?
01:31Alice Goh will not leave if there is no help from the government officials.
01:38For us to fry in our own oil.
01:42How did she leave the Philippines?
01:44Will the authorities find Alice Goh?
01:46Your Honor, I will check. I will come back to you.
01:51The President's Anti-Organized Crime Commission
01:56It all started when the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, or PAOC, received a tip
02:04about the victims of torture, illegal detention, and human trafficking in Bambantarlak.
02:15I received a call from the Malaysian Embassy.
02:18They also have a national that is stopping Alice from leaving there.
02:23It is also a hostage.
02:27When we have complete information about human trafficking and other illegal activities in Bambantarlak,
02:34the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission organized an operation.
02:39On March 13, the PAOC's operating unit went from Kamkrame to Bambantarlak.
02:49Emergency!
02:51Until March 13, 2024, a van was chased by the authorities on the Pampanga Highway.
03:03Here it is, sir.
03:05Here it is. Just lock it.
03:14Okay, okay.
03:18Don't run.
03:28Vietnamese? Vietnamese?
03:30Chinese?
03:31Chinese.
03:48In PAOC's investigation, it was found out that ZUN Yuan Technology Inc. is the operator of Pogo Hub,
03:55which is now known as Scam Hub.
03:58We don't call them Pogo Hubs anymore.
04:00I'll call them Scam Hubs.
04:02Yes.
04:04It's illegal.
04:05Yes.
04:06But the thing is, what we've raided lately, SKK, SmartPep, and Bambantarlak,
04:12all of them are illegal.
04:14All of the illegals hide there illegally.
04:18In Impapawid, the vastness and size of the compound is noticeable.
04:22There are houses, dormitories, villas, and even an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
04:28When Reporters Notebook entered Pogo Hub,
04:31there were still a lot of people who used to work and live here.
04:37Inside the houses, you can find the Scam Farm.
04:41Here, you can see the computers that were sometimes used to deceive victims
04:47from different countries, including China.
04:53Love Scam, Investment Scam, and Cryptocurrency Scam were found here.
04:59Every employee uses a script to be able to scam.
05:04This begins with the profiling, the search for the victim.
05:07So it says here, after adding to WhatsApp, you must reply to your customer's message in time.
05:14Real time, so to speak.
05:16If a customer is slow to reply or doesn't reply to your customer,
05:20just delete him and don't waste your time.
05:22Look for a new one.
05:23Look for a new one.
05:24Move on right away.
05:25Yes, move on right away.
05:26In the villas of the so-called Big Boss, there are cars parked in the garages.
05:33And inside, expensive furniture and equipment can be found.
05:41Each villa alone is estimated to be worth 44 million pesos, according to PAOK.
05:48When the operation was launched, some questionable details about Pogo Hub were read here,
05:53especially this location, which is just behind the very municipality of Banban.
05:59When PAOK investigated the property, it turns out that the very mayor of Banban, Alice Huo, has a connection.
06:07This is where the investigation of the Senate started.
06:10We are now one of the fastest growing hotspots for scams around the world.
06:19The chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women and Children, Senator Risa Ontiveros,
06:25Apparently, after the raid, on-site, documents were obtained that she is still paying utility bills,
06:33salaries of maintenance employees, and others.
06:38So there was a concern.
06:40Why is a mayor so involved here in Pogo Hub?
06:47She is the one who walked the papers of this Zunyuan to be able to do business there.
06:54In the Senate, Huo admitted that she used to own the land of Pogo Hub,
06:58under the company Baofu Land Development Incorporated.
07:02At first, there was no Baofu.
07:05I bought the property for the installment.
07:08Then when I bought the property, that's the only time I invited the Chinese,
07:14the investors to invest in my land.
07:20But she denied that she was involved in this illegal operation.
07:24We are not involved in any Pogo operation, Your Honor.
07:28While the investigation is ongoing, the questions about Huo's identity are concentrated.
07:33Mayor Huo has no hospital record of birth.
07:37Her Certificate of Life Birth was registered when she was 17 years old.
07:43Based on Huo's birth certificate, her father is Filipino.
07:47But this is different from some documents related to their business.
07:53My father is Chinese.
07:55Okay, she is Chinese. So where is she from in China?
07:59She is from Fujian.
08:01If she is Chinese, your father,
08:04why is it stated in your birth certificate that your father, Angelito Huo, is Filipino?
08:10Why is that?
08:12Your Honor, Angelito is my father's Filipino name.
08:17The information about Huo's mother is also different.
08:21In her first hearing, her mother and father are married.
08:28And it came out in a registry of live births.
08:33But in her other statements, including in her interview, she is a housewife.
08:40Based on your investigation, who are Angelito Huo and Amelia Leal's parents?
08:44It points to the same pair, Angelito Huo and Amelia Leal.
08:49Unfortunately, both of them do not have a birth certificate in the PSA.
08:53And they also do not have a marriage certificate.
08:55In her hearing, where did she grow up?
08:58I grew up in Farm Your Honor.
09:00My father hid me.
09:02I grew up on my own.
09:05In spite of saying that she stayed on a farm for several years,
09:14in the election of 2022, the name of Alice Guo suddenly disappeared and the mayor of Bambang ran away.
09:25In her further investigation of Guo in the Senate,
09:28she also repeatedly said that she is a simple housewife.
09:32You have assets of almost 300 million pesos, Mayor.
09:35For me, that is not just a simple person.
09:38In the statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth of Mayor Guo issued by the Senate,
09:44it was declared that she owns three dump trucks worth 2 million pesos each,
09:51a motor vehicle worth 11 million pesos, and a helicopter worth 60 million pesos.
09:59I really want to do business with the chopper.
10:02I will make it like an air taxi.
10:04However, it did not push through.
10:06I just sold it.
10:08Her cash in bank is 200 million pesos.
10:11She also declared liabilities of 250 million pesos.
10:16In the documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC issued in the hearing,
10:21it was found that even before Guo entered politics,
10:24she has been an incorporator and major shareholder of 11 companies since 2010.
10:30She has an embroidery business, meat shop, slaughterhouse, smelting plant, and farm registered to Guo.
10:38Mayor Guo is also an incorporator in Baofu Land Development Incorporated,
10:43the land owned by ZUN U1 Technology Incorporated.
10:47The Senate and the authorities did not stop investigating Guo.
10:51In the subsequent hearings, it gradually became clear what her true identity is.
10:57I am a homeschooled, Your Honor.
10:59Of course, Guo is not homeschooled.
11:02She studied in a private Chinese school in Quezon City,
11:06contrary to what she first said in the hearings.
11:08As far as I remember, there is no farm in our school.
11:12It's all buildings.
11:13Later, the National Bureau of Investigation or NBI revealed that
11:17the fingerprints of Alice Leal Guo and a Chinese national named Guo Huaping collided.
11:23We are 100% sure that Alice Leal Guo and Guo Huaping are one and the same person.
11:31According to the records, Guo Huaping arrived in the country on January 12, 2003.
11:38We cannot say the basis of the fingerprints or the source of the fingerprints
11:43because as we speak, we have not received any document at all for that matter.
11:51Due to the revelations regarding the cases of human trafficking and torture in Pogo Hub in Bambang, Tarlac,
11:58Don't touch me!
12:00On June 21, the former mayor and 13 other members of the case were charged with anti-human trafficking in persons act.
12:10Four days later, the Department of Justice or DOJ issued an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order for Guo.
12:20Guo was repeatedly invited to hearings in the Senate, but she did not attend.
12:28She said that there were obstacles in her life.
12:30She was also affected by her physical and mental health due to the investigation of the hearings in the Senate.
12:38Due to the continuous departure of the former mayor in the hearings,
12:42Mayor Alice, or should I say,
12:45Guo Huaping,
12:47If you do not honor the subpoena, I will cite you in contempt.
12:52You played the law.
12:54You played the Philippines.
12:57Alice Guo, along with other members of the Guo family,
13:02was knighted in contempt by her accountant and other members of the Pogo Hub in Bambang, Tarlac.
13:07Cassandra Ong was also invited.
13:09Ong was the representative of the Pogo Hub, which was attacked by the authorities in Porak, Pampanga on June 4.
13:17Like what was discovered in Bambang, some victims of abuse were also discovered here.
13:24Get up, get up.
13:30And there were also scam farms where various types of prostitution took place.
13:35The Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality also issued an arrest order for Guo,
13:42her children, and other members of the family.
13:46To Guo Huaping, a.k.a. Alice Guo,
13:50we will arrest you and will continue to bring you to the next hearing.
13:57Your continued refusal is disgraceful not only to the Senate,
14:02but to every Filipino who follows the law and violates the law.
14:09As the Senate issued the arrest order,
14:13Guo was immediately searched by the authorities in her registered address in Bambang, Tarlac, and Valenzuela,
14:20but she was not found here.
14:22Guo's accountant was arrested and is currently in the Senate's detention facility.
14:28On August 13, Alice Guo was formally dismissed from the office of the Ombudsman.
14:35This means that she will not receive all the retirement benefits
14:38and for the rest of her life, she will be disqualified from any position or office of the government.
14:44This decision was based on the case filed by the Department of Interior and Local Government or DILG
14:51for grave misconduct, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service,
14:56gross neglect of duty, and serious dishonesty
14:59regarding the role of the former mayor in the illegal operation of Pogo in Bambang, Tarlac.
15:05While Guo was being investigated for the numerous cases filed against her,
15:10on August 19, Senator Risa Ontiveros issued a permit
15:14that the former mayor of Bambang was already out of the country.
15:20Who allowed this travesty to happen?
15:24Who is responsible for this?
15:26Alice Guo will not leave if there is no help from the officials of the government.
15:34For us to be sautéed in our own oil.
15:38A permit was signed that Guo was already out of the country on July 18.
15:43In fact, Alice Guo's permit was obtained inside Kuala Lumpur Malaysia International Airport.
15:50The fact that she is now out of the country, as far as we are concerned,
15:55that is almost an admission of guilt on her part.
15:59Personally, I feel that that is a bastardization of our criminal justice system.
16:05Based on the reports received by the people from the authorities in various countries,
16:10from Denpasar in Bali, Indonesia, Alice left Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 18.
16:17On July 21, Guo flew to Singapore.
16:21A week later, on July 28,
16:23his parents and siblings flew from China to Singapore to meet Alice Guo.
16:31On August 18, the former mayor of Batam, Indonesia, boarded a ship.
16:37We still don't have a criminal arrest warrant against Mayor Guo.
16:42Second, in the absence of a criminal arrest warrant,
16:46we could not initiate extradition request in Indonesia.
16:50Pao has a theory on how she got out of the country.
17:07Alice Guo's Philippine passport was cancelled.
17:20So, she will be confined in a place where we will limit her movement and her mobility.
17:28In the pursuit of getting Alice Guo out of the country, the Senate continued to investigate.
17:32But what if the law enforcement itself needs to investigate?
17:38What if they drop the ball?
17:40What if they should be the ones to answer?
17:42The B.I. promised me and the Senate President Pro Tempore
17:49that they will not allow Guo Huaping to leave the Philippines.
17:54But now, he's gone.
17:57It's like we're being slapped in the face.
18:01Our laws, regulations, and process are being repeated over and over again.
18:07This past Wednesday,
18:09Immigration officials in Indonesia,
18:12Cassandra Ong,
18:14the representative of Laki South 99 Pogo in Porak, Pampanga,
18:18and Sheila Guo,
18:20Alice Guo's sister,
18:22were arrested and taken out of Indonesia.
18:25Meanwhile, the Indonesian Police Attaché,
18:28Cassandra Ong and Sheila Guo,
18:30were detained in the Philippines.
18:35For the authorities,
18:37it's a big deal for the two to be arrested
18:40in order to find out what Alice Guo might be up to.
18:43That's why the President's call is for all of us to investigate,
18:48ourselves, our agencies, our co-workers,
18:52whoever it is.
18:55And this Thursday, August 22,
18:58they were immediately flown back to the Philippines.
19:00Those two women,
19:02Alice Guo's sister,
19:05and their associate, Cassandra Lee Ong.
19:09Meanwhile,
19:11Cassandra Ong and Sheila Guo were taken into custody by the National Bureau of Investigation of the NBI
19:16before being surrendered to the Senate.
19:18As for Cassandra Ong,
19:21she will be inquested for obstruction of justice
19:24and violation of the Passport Act.
19:27As for Sheila Guo,
19:29she will also be charged with immigration laws,
19:32violation of immigration laws.
19:34Cassandra Ong and Sheila Guo were also arrested
19:37in the Senate hearing on Tuesday.
19:39We tried to get permission from the Bureau of Immigration of the NBI
19:43for an interview
19:45on the escape of Guo from the country.
19:47But until now, they have not responded.
19:49Alice Guo will not be able to leave without help.
19:52The point here is,
19:54even if the initial is a lookout order,
19:56if Alice Guo follows the procedure
19:59that she will go through to the Bureau of Immigration officials
20:03at the airport,
20:05where people are limited to use,
20:07she will be monitored.
20:09She will be reported immediately.
20:11This proves that the law is weak, right?
20:15It's like a law that only has a limited limitation.
20:19In the statement issued by President Bongbong Marcos,
20:23he said that
20:24he will try to prove
20:27that there was a breach in the departure of the country
20:30of Dismissed Mayor Alice Guo.
20:32In addition,
20:34Guo's escape from the country
20:36revealed that the government's justice system is being destroyed
20:40and the trust of the public is also being destroyed.
20:43The investigation continues
20:46to find out who helped Guo
20:49to leave the country.
20:51In the sudden disappearance of Dismissed Mayor Alice Guo,
20:54the question is,
20:56who escaped?
20:58How did she escape from the authorities?
21:00According to the authorities,
21:02there was a breach in the government's system.
21:05The authorities should be held accountable
21:08and find those who are involved
21:11in the illegal activities inside Pogo.
21:14Until next Saturday,
21:16I am Mackie Pulido.
21:18I am Dune Generation
21:20and this is Reporters Talk.
21:24For more stories, visit nyseagrant.org