Margie Markland

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has promised to “expose the culprits” responsible for the Philippine exit of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and vowed that they will face the full extent of the law.

Photo Courtesy of Facebook/Bongbong Marcos/Inquirer/PCO.

In a statement released through the Presidential Communications Office on Facebook, on August 21, Marcos lamented how Guo’s departure “has laid bare” the corruption in the country’s justice system and “eroded public trust.”

“Let me be clear: heads will roll,” he stated, citing a full-scale investigation is already underway to expose those "who have betrayed the people's trust and aided in her flight.”

Marcos further stressed that there is no place for individuals who “place personal interest above serving the Filipino people with honor, integrity and justice” in the government.

The statement was issued after Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin ordered the cancellation of Guo’s Philippine passport following the disclosure of Senator Risa Hontiveros on August 19 that Guo, who was also identified as Chinese citizen Guo Hua Ping, left the country on July 17 for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The dismissed mayor reportedly fled from the Philippines despite being subjected to an immigration lookout bulletin.

The Bureau of Immigrations (BI), meanwhile, confirmed the information from their counterparts and bared that Guo “left the country illegally” without passing through the Philippine immigration authorities and “illegally travelled to Malaysia as early as July.”

As of August 18, BI said Guo was last tracked in Indonesia.

Despite this, Guo’s legal counsel continues to insist that she is still in the country, based on her assurances alone.

Guo, elected mayor of Bamban in 2022, faces a slew of cases following a law enforcement operation in her town and series of dramatic Senate probes where her links to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators in Bamban and questions about her real identity were first revealed.

Guo has been accused of either being part of a large criminal scheme that involved the trafficking and torture of workers or being a spy for China.