Immigration admits low morale after Marcos' scolding over Guo escape

MANILA, Philippines — Bureau of Immigration (BI) spokesperson Dana Sandoval admitted that the mood in the agency is somber following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s rebuke of the agency over the escape of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo and her siblings.

Sandoval noted that they still have no information regarding the supposed immigration officers who helped in their escape.

“We will continue with our work because we also want to know the truth so that those who are involved in this scheme will face justice,” Sandoval said.

“Whoever is connected with this is tarnishing the name of the agency as a whole,” she added.

Sandoval said the BI would not hesitate to file charges against anyone involved in the matter.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said he still suspects some BI personnel helped in the Guo sibling’s escape from the Philippines in July, saying the investigation on the matter is still ongoing.

Remulla recalled the so-called pastillas scam that allowed the illegal entry of Chinese visitors, escorting them through immigration screening, in exchange for money.

“They sneak people in like what the pastillas gang did and they sneak people out. That’s why we know that people at the immigration are doing that, so that’s what we’re looking at now,” he said.

The justice secretary, however, said he has not yet talked to BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco about his suspicions on the possible involvement of immigration personnel in Guo’s exit from the country.

Remulla added that Tansingco allegedly failed to notify the DOJ on the developments on Guo’s escape.

“When this was happening, he did not tell me immediately. Maybe, he already knew about it before we found out. That’s why we’re not talking now. It’s wrong of him not to inform the DOJ secretary about developments in his agency,” Remulla said, referring to Tansingco.

Guo’s purported sister Shiela earlier told a Senate hearing that they left the Philippines through a series of boat trips until they got to Malaysia.

Shiela said they were taken from their farm in Bamban and transported in a van to a port, where they boarded a fishing vessel for a three- to four-day journey to Sabah, Malaysia.

Remulla,