Senator Sherwin Gatchalian expressed concerns on Friday that government agencies may have conspired to allow the dismissed mayor of Bamban, who was under an immigration lookout bulletin, to leave the country undetected.
In an online press conference, Gatchalian revealed that he only learned about the incident a month after it occurred, though other agencies had been aware of it for some time. He questioned why this information was kept from both him and the public, suggesting that there might have been an attempt to cover up the situation.
The former mayor, Alice Guo, was on the immigration lookout bulletin due to her involvement in illegal POGO activities and her dismissal for grave misconduct by the Office of the Ombudsman. Despite this, the Bureau of Immigration confirmed that Guo is currently in Indonesia, while her associates, Sheila Guo and Cassandra Ong, are in the custody of Philippine authorities.
Gatchalian criticized law enforcement agencies for allowing Guo to escape, calling it a significant blunder that reflects poorly on their ability to track high-profile suspects. He also raised concerns about the billions of pesos allocated for intelligence funds, questioning how such an oversight could occur and stating that this will be a point of inquiry during the upcoming budget season.