MATAPOS madakip sa Indonesia sina Sheila Guo at Cassandra Ong at ma-deport sa Pilipinas noong isang Linggo, nagpaunlak ng panayam si Senator Win Gatchalian sa Senado. Narito ang bahagi ng kanyang panayam at paliwanag mula sa website ng Senate of the Philippines nitong Agosto 23, 2024.
Ayon din sa pinakahuling ulat ng The Manila Times, nasa kustodiya ng National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) ang mga Ito.
Mula sa NBI dadalhin sa Senado
Q: Update on Sheila Guo…Is she going to be brought here today or anytime during the long weekend or will the law enforcement agencies keep her then just bring her to a hearing next week?
SEN. WIN: Marami kasing mga agencies and institutions. Kailangan nila gawin muna yung mga procedural mandates nila. So to avoid conflict, the Senate coordinated with the Bureau of Immigration, with the DoJ (Department of Justice), as well as the House of Representatives because may outstanding arrest order rin ang House.
So parang hindi naman magkaroon ng tug-of-war doon sa presence ng dalawang individuals. Nagkaroon na ng agreement na ipa-process muna ng Bureau of Immigration. We will give them time to do their mandatory procedures. And then ang DOJ rin because this is in light of the cases that were filed against Alice Guo and the other individuals, including potentially si Cassandra Ong. Then after them, Senate na ang mag-take custody because meron tayong hearing on Tuesday. So on target is Tuesday. These two individuals will attend the hearing. So inaasahan namin over the long weekend, all of these mandatory procedures will be completed by the government agencies.
Q: So it won’t be earlier than Tuesday bago sila dalhin dito sa Senate?
SEN. WIN: As far as I know, yes. So inaayos na nila yung kanilang mga kailangan gawin. It’s a holiday. So they’re trying to…To finish everything hopefully before Tuesday para pagdating ng hearing, the Senate can take custody of the two individuals.
Q: Tapos doon, after the hearing, si Sheila Guo, since she’s the one with the warrant from the Senate, dito na siya i-detain?
SEN. WIN: Yes. Dito na siya i-detain. Actually, si Cassandra rin mayroong warrant eh. If you look at the transcript, nag-move ako to cite her in contempt. Because dalawang beses nag-issue ng subpoenana and obviously nagtatago siya so hindi ma-serve-serve yung subpoena. And then, the chairperson, si Sen. Riza, issued a letter, I think about yesterday or I think yesterday morning, to already rule on that citation. So mayroong citation for contempt and then procedurally, dapat ang Senado may custody rin kay Cassandra Ong.
Senate hearing sa Martes
Q: Okay. My second question, sir. Now that Sheila and Cassandra are back, ano sa tingin nyo magiging direction ng hearing next week? Ano personally yung gusto nyo itanong at tingin nyo at malamang itatanong din ang mga kasama nyo sa Tuesday?
SEN. WIN: I won’t go into the specifics in the details because I’m reserving my questions for Tuesday. But ang anggulo nito, unang-una, in the case of Bamban, parati kong inuulit na napatayo itong Bamban ng pera na hindi natin alam saan nanggaling. And if you look at the income statements of all the companies, the Guo-related companies, wala naman kita yung Guo-related companies.
But si Sheila Guo plays a very important role. I think all of those companies, I think mga five very important companies, treasurer siya or corporate secretary siya. So ang ibig sabihin nito, kung ang Guo companies ay ginamit to fund the Bamban Pogo Hub, ibig sabihin si Sheila has also a role in that funding. So yun ang aking magiging focus. Ano ba ang role ni Sheila Guo pagdating sa funding nung Bamban Pogo Hub? Dahil if you look at yung Baofu Land, Hong Sheng, Zun Yuan, wala doon si Sheila eh. Pero then again, saan nang galing yung funding nung Pogo Hub na yun? And yun ang magiging focus ko. What role did Sheila play in terms of the funding requirements of the Bamban Pogo Hub?
So far, Cassandra is straightforward. Corporate secretary siya ng Whirlwind Corporation. Whirlwind Corporation is the landowner in which Lucky South 99 is built on. Lucky South 99 is the operator, the licensee of that Pogo Hub which was raided because it was discovered that scamming, human trafficking, torture were all happening in that Pogo Hub. Cassandra Ong, as we all know, is the representative of Lucky South 99. In fact, she went to Pagcor to represent herself as the representative of Lucky South 99. So straightforward yung role na yun. But may bagong dimension. Dati kasi may anggulo kung related itong dalawang Pogo Hub. Ngayon, established na related na. By the virtue of Cassandra Ong and Sheila Guo traveling together, yan, nakita natin na si Cassandra Ong malapit na malapit sa Guo family. Hindi lang kay Alice Guo, kundi sa buong family. Dahil from Jakarta, Malaysia, Malaysia, Singapore, Singapore to Indonesia, magkakasama sila all the way. So malapit na malapit si Cassandra Ong sa Guo family. That makes this two Pogo Hub related.
Asan si Alice Guo?
Q: My last question po, before I turn over to our colleagues… Where do you think is Alice Guo now? And how close do you think are we to getting her back?
SEN. WIN: It’s a matter of time. It’s a matter of time that Guo Hua Ping will be apprehended. And will be returned back to the Philippines. She is definitly in Bantam, Indonesia. That’s her last known position. But because of the swift action of the Indonesian government, and I’m very sure that the Indonesian government now is alerted and all of its enforcement instrumentalities are alerted, it will be very difficult for Alice Guo to move around Indonesia.
So I thank the Indonesian government for their swift action. Napakabilis. And we can all see that their entire government enforcement agencies were really put into play or moving to apprehend the Guo family. So it’s really a matter of time that si Guo Huaping will return back to the Philippines to face charges and to answer for her criminal activities.
Passport ni Sheila
Q: Hi, sir. Good morning. Sir, were you able to independently confirm if Sheila Guo indeed had a Chinese passport when she was apprehended?
SEN. WIN: Personally, hindi ko na siya na-confirm. That was only a theory in the past when I mentioned that because we were looking at the documents that she is still holding. And walang traces kasi na-cancel yung kanyang Chinese passport. And the Chinese embassy never got back to us. So hindi natin alam with certainty kung buhay siya. But nevertheless, assuming buhay siya, it will be very difficult for her to use her Chinese passport for a very long time.
Because as we all know, if you hold a Chinese passport, you will need a visa to travel to any of the ASEAN countries. Very strict na ngayon ang Asean in terms of getting visas for Chinese passports. Kung hindi ganun na katagal yung binibigay nilang visa. So it will be very difficult for her to use her Chinese passport to move around. As opposed to her Filipino passport. Kasi in Asean, Filipino passport is visa-free. Pwede tayong umikot doon sa 10 Asean countries. Stay longer and without any parang walang borders. We can just go to any of the Asean countries without any visa. So since may cancellation na nung kanyang Filipino passport, mahirapan na siyang gumalaw sa Asean.
Rebelasyon ni Sen Risa Hontiveros,
Q: Sen, do you think we will be having this conversation or makikita ba natin yung nangyari kahapon kung hindi nag-raise sa floor si Sen Risa regarding the development on this case? Kasi, it appears na may mga information. Supposedly na yung ibang pertinent government agencies pero parang hindi sinishare sa ibang ahensya ng gobyerno.
SEN. WIN: Oo, tama yun. I thank Sen Risa for bringing this out into the open and using the floor to inform the public. Kasi kung titignan mo yung timeline, as early as July 18, wala na siya dito sa Pilipinas. Pero nalaman natin around August 18, around thereabouts. So isang buwan bago natin nalaman. Narinig ko sa mga ibang ahensya na maaga nilang alam. Narinig ko sa ibang mga spokesperson ng different agencies marami, alam na nila earlier on, binavalidate lang. Pero dapat na-inform rin yung public dahil ang public ang kakampi mo dito. In fact, yung mga pictures na iba, I understand, galing rin sa publiko. May mga nakakuha ng pictures. Guo Hua Ping. At pinadala sa mga enforcement agencies natin. So, in other words, even us, hindi kami binigyan ng briefing. Kung in confidence yan, sana hinumingi ng executive session. At brinief muna tayo kung naka-alis na o ano. Ngayon, nagiging suspicious tuloy ako. Personally, dahil bakit tinago pa sa amin. At tinago sa publiko. So, parang gusto itago yung naging problema na nakalusot yung tao, si Go Hua Ping. At parang gusto pagtakpan yung nakalusot si Go Hua Ping sa mga enforcement agencies natin. Kaya hindi maganda na itago pa ito for almost one month. Bago namin tuklasan.
Reaksyon ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Q: And equally important, sir, how critical was the president’s action and public pronouncements regarding this incident?
SEN. WIN: Very critical. After the strong pronouncement of our president, next day, nahuli na ng Indonesia, Indonesian government. So, very critical yan. Yung kanyang very strong statement most likely triggered the enforcement agencies to reach out to our Indonesian counterparts and the Indonesian counterparts in turn mobilized their personnel in Bantam, Indonesia. So, napakalaking bagay yung naging boses ng ating Pangulo. Obviously, hindi siya natuwa sa nangyari. Nakalusot. At hanggang ngayon nga, mystery pa kung paano nakalabas si Guo Hua Ping. Hindi natin alam kung nang barko, nag-eroplano, nag-commercial flight. That alone is a big blunder on the part of the enforcement agencies. Paano siya nakalabas nang walang nakakalam? So, for almost a month and a half, inaalerto ng Senado itong mga enforcement agencies. Ang isa pang question dito, ano nangyari sa intelligence fund nila? Billion-billion yung intelligence fund ang mga enforcement agencies. May mga assets sila around. Bakit nakalusot? Isang… Alice Guo sa kanilang pagmamonitor.
Kahina-hinalang personalidad at mabagal na ahensya ng gobyerno
Q: And Sen, what do you make of those individuals, including Alice Guo’s lawyers, who are insisting that she’s still here in the country? Lalo na yung isang notary.
SEN. WIN: Oo, yan sa akin, malaking question mark para sa akin si Atty. Galicia.
Kasi ini-insist siya, nakita niya. Ini-insist niya, physically nakita niya. Yung itsura at pagmamukha naman ni Guo Hua Ping a.k.a. Alice Guo, nasa TV almost everyday. Pagbukas mo yung TikTok, Facebook, pagmumukha niya, nandoon.
So, I’m very sure, alam niya yung itsura ni Guo Hua Ping. Kung totoo yung sinasabi niya, then talagang nakita niya si Guo Hua Ping nung the night of August 14. Pero well-established na ngayon, wala dito talaga si Guo Hua Ping. Nasa Indonesia siya. So, dapat sagutin niya yung katanungan kung bakit niya sinabi na nakita niya si Guo Hua Ping. Eh, wala naman dito si Guo Hua Ping.
Malaking posibilidad na nagsisinungaling rin siya.
Q: Then, last na lang po. Do you believe that dapat by now our authorities have already established kung paano nga nakalabas si Alice Guo and yung pamilya niya?
SEN. WIN: Dapat, no? Dapat. Well, andiyan na ngayon si Alice. Andiyan na ngayon si Sheila Guo, si Cassandra. I am very sure, dapat iniimbestigahan na nila kung ano ba ang nangyari. Meron na silang information dyan. But nevertheless, itong mga enforcement agencies, lalo na ang Bureau of Immigration, may mga intelligence yan eh. Paano ba nakakalabas ang mga tao? Paano nakakapasok yung mga tao? So, alam na dapat nila yung mga channels, mga pa simpleng channels. At may assets sila dapat. Doon sa mga simpleng channels na yun. So, nakakadismaya dahil nga hanggang ngayon na nahuli na yung dalawa. Hindi pa natin alam kung paano nakalabas si Guo Huaping. Wala pang nakakapagsabi with certainty kung paano siya nakalabas.
At yun rin, it’s not sending us strong confidence. Dahil marami rin mga taong may warrant of arrest na hindi na rin mahanap. Si Pastor Quiboloy.
Si Arnie Teves. At marami pa na hindi naman high profile. So, yung punto ko dito, kahit na may warrant of arrest i-issue sa’yo, pwede palang makawala at makatakas ng hindi alam ng gobyerno.
Q: May Bantag pa, Sir.
SEN. WIN: May Bantag pa pala. May isa pa, baka wala na rin siya dito. So, it doesn’t send a strong confidence about our enforcement agencies. And that’s one aspect rin itatanong. Ano nangyari sa intelligence fund natin? Every year, yan ang may intelligence fund hinihingi mga enforcement agencies natin. At bilyones na yung mga intelligence fund nila. Hindi inaudit to because of the nature of intelligence fund. Pero hindi rin makita kung paano ginagamit at bakit hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin mahanap itong mga taong to.
May karugtong
