Philippines investigating the escape of ex-mayor accused of ...

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Wednesday his government was investigating how Alice Guo, a former town mayor accused of ties with Chinese criminal syndicates, managed to flee the country.

Marcos warned that “heads will roll” a day after he ordered Guo’s Philippine passport canceled following her escape, which was confirmed based on foreign immigration records.

“We will expose the culprits who have betrayed the people’s trust and aided in her flight,” Marcos said in a statement. “Those responsible will be suspended and will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

Guo, wanted by the Senate for refusing to attend hearings on her alleged criminal ties, denies the accusations, insisting she is a natural-born Philippine citizen facing “malicious accusations.”

The Senate investigation began in May after authorities raided a casino in Guo’s sleepy farming town of Bamban in March, uncovering what authorities said were scams perpetrated from a facility built on land partially owned by the former mayor.

Guo was recently removed from office by the Ombudsman for grave misconduct.

A spokesperson for the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission said Guo traveled to Malaysia and Singapore last month and in Indonesia this month using her Philippine passport.

Guo’s lawyer Stephen David said she was still in the Philippines, without providing further details.

The case comes at a time of growing Philippine suspicion about China’s activities following an increasingly tense dispute over reefs and shoals in the busy waterway of the South China Sea, where both nations have overlapping claims.

Reuters

Reuters