Who helped Alice Guo escape? Unnamed Philippine police chief blamed

As Senate investigations intensify, the identity of the implicated police chief remains shrouded in mystery, heightening public scrutiny

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Alice Guo, also known as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, attends a Philippine Senate hearing on September 9. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:56pm, 18 Sep 2024Updated: 3:00pm, 18 Sep 2024

A former Philippine police chief reportedly accepted bribes to help dismissed mayor Alice Guo in her escape from the country, it was revealed as the Senate digs deeper into her suspected connection with Chinese crime rings.

Raul Villanueva, senior vice-president of gaming watchdog Pagcor’s security and monitoring cluster, said that intelligence reports suggested immigration and police officials had played a role in facilitating Guo and her family’s flight in July.

“I don’t have the name,” he told a Senate panel led by lawmaker Risa Hontiveros, who is spearheading the investigation. “There were some rumours in the intelligence community that [it was] a former chief” of the Philippine National Police.

“The intelligence community is still confirming it,” Villanueva said on Tuesday, further indicating that the former police chief might have been on Guo’s payroll, although this information remains unverified.

Guo, along with her two siblings, fled to Indonesia via Malaysia and Singapore after an investigation was launched following a raid on a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (Pogo) compound in Bamban, Tarlac province, where she previously served as mayor. The raid resulted in the rescue of hundreds of trafficked workers and the seizure of equipment used for scamming – operations that were based on land partially owned by Guo.

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Philippine officials in hot water over selfies with fugitive mayor Alice Guo

The ex-mayor, who was arrested in Indonesia earlier this month and subsequently returned to Manila, insists she is a Filipino citizen. However, the National Bureau of Investigation has stated that her fingerprints match those of a Chinese national who entered the Philippines as a teenager.