Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo (HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — “A missing link” to solve Alice Guo’s escape from Philippine jurisdiction.
This was how Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian described the ongoing mystery on how the dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor had a “Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1″ stamp on her passport.
“Sa pag aanalisa, yun yung pinaka questionable kung paano nagkaroon ng stamp nang hindi natin alam kung [nag] airline ba siya o nag barko ba siya. Hindi natin [alam], but I think that is the missing link,” said Gatchalian in a press conference on Wednesday.
(Based on our analysis, the most questionable part was how she had a stamp without us knowing if she boarded a plane or a boat. We don’t know, but I think that is the missing link.)
“Kapag nalaman natin [kung] yan ay official o unofficial, at kung paano siya dumating ay mapagdudugtong dugtong na natin ‘yun,” he added.
(Once we discover if this is official or unofficial, I think we’ll finally be able to connect it all together.)
Authorities said the Guo siblings fled the country in July 2024.
Contrary to the stamp found on Alice’s passport, both Alice and Shiela previously said they boarded three boats to flee the Philippines: a small boat, a “fishing ship,” and later on transferred to a small “blue or green” boat direct to Malaysia.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros earlier said her office was able to verify the legitimacy of the stamp, noting that they coordinated with Malaysian authorities to confirm the matter.
“Meron po tayong pruweba na [yung] stamp verified by my offices [to] Malaysian sources [that] the stamp at KL International Airport Terminal 1, apparently, is genuine. Yun lang ang alam natin for sure sa hindi ko maintindihan bakit napaka misteryosong pagtakas na ito,” said Hontiveros during the Senate subcommittee on justice and human rights’ hearing last Tuesday.
(We have proof verified by my office to Malaysian sources that the stamp at KL International Airport Terminal 1 is genuine. That’s what we know for sure.)
During the hearing, BI Intelligence Division chief Fortunato Manahan said he agrees, but he still noted the possibility that the stamp is legitimate, but erroneously done.