Guo still in the Philippines ‘as far as we know’ — DOJ

MANILA, Philippines — Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor is still in the Philippines as far as the Department of Justice (DOJ) knows, according to agency spokesperson Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano.

Clavano said this after Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Monday bared during a plenary session that Guo had left the country and traveled to Malaysia and Singapore earlier in July. 

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“As far as we know, Mayor Guo is still in the country. There has been no report to us of an attempted departure from the Bureau of Immigration (BI). In fact, she filed a Motion for her case in the DOJ last Friday to which she attached a Counter Affidavit, which was sworn before a Philippine notary public on August 14, 2024,” Clavano told reporters on Monday.

The DOJ spokesperson also said that there have been sightings of Guo at the time that Hontiversos claimed that the dismissed mayor was in Malaysia.  

Clavano said that the National Bureau of Investigation is verifying if the documents that Hontiveros attributed to them were authentic. 

“We will continue to gather information from both the Bureau of Immigration and the National Bureau of Investigation. This is a case of national significance,” Clavano said.

If Guo has indeed left the country, Clavano said that a thorough investigation is needed. 

In a separate statement, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) similarly said that they are verifying reports that Guo left for Indonesia through Denpasar, Indonesia. 

“ As far as our BI records are concerned she is still in the country. We are coordinating with our local partners to check on this info. In the meantime, we are awaiting the official information from our Malaysian and Indonesia counterparts,” said PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio. 

During a plenary session on Monday, Hontiveros said that she has received information that Guo left the country on July 17. Authorities have been on the lookout for Guo following the mounting cases she has been tagged in. 

The DOJ has been investigating Guo for her role in human trafficking operations in a compound she used to have ownership in. Guo