After Arrest, Claim of "Fleeing Due to Threat to Life"
The head of the Philippine Immigration Bureau was dismissed in connection with a case where a Chinese national disguised his identity to become the mayor of a small Philippine city and fled abroad after a criminal investigation began.
On the 10th (local time), according to local Philippine media such as the Inquirer, President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines approved the dismissal of Immigration Bureau Chief Norman Tansingco the day before.
On the 9th (local time), at a Senate hearing held in Manila, Philippines, Alice Guo (35, female), former mayor of Bamban City, is listening to a lawmaker's question. [Photo by EPA/ Yonhap News]
Jesus Crispin Remulla, the Justice Minister and Tansingco’s superior who recommended his dismissal, explained that Tansingco made a series of mistakes related to the overseas escape of former mayor Guo of the small city of Bamban. He also told reporters, “If I were him, I would have already resigned.”
Previously, former mayor Guo had been accused of involvement in crimes such as illegal immigration facilitation, voice phishing, and fraud in collusion with Chinese-run online gambling dens notorious as ‘crime dens’ in the Philippines and with ‘POGO’ (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators). The charges also included laundering more than 100 million pesos (approximately 2.38 billion KRW) in proceeds from criminal activities. POGO is an online casino operated in the Philippines targeting customers from mainland China, where gambling is illegal. POGO has caused much controversy locally and accounted for 1.3 billion USD (approximately 1.7 trillion KRW) of the Philippine economy as of 2022.
Mayor Guo, who is actually Chinese, was suspected of identity laundering by using a Filipino identity to serve as mayor while allegedly acting as a Chinese spy. However, he repeatedly failed to appear before the Senate when summoned. Consequently, Philippine authorities issued an arrest warrant and suspended Guo from his mayoral position citing ‘serious violations.’
Last month, the Philippine government attempted to secure his custody, but he had already left the country. Former mayor Guo fled through Malaysia and Singapore to Indonesia and was apprehended in Jakarta on the 4th of this month. When the news of Guo’s escape abroad was revealed in Congress about a month after his flight, an enraged President Marcos promised to strongly respond by identifying and punishing those responsible for his departure.
Director Tansingco knew about Guo’s escape but failed to report it to the Department of Justice, and the fact of his departure was first disclosed by Congress.
Meanwhile, former mayor Guo, who was repatriated to the Philippines while in custody, appeared at a Philippine Senate hearing the day before and claimed that there was “really no help” from Philippine government officials or Filipinos during his escape abroad. Regarding the escape route, Guo said he traveled by yacht for several hours from a port in the Manila area and then transferred to a large ship.
At the same time, he recently requested personal protection from Philippine authorities, insisting that the reason he fled the Philippines was due to fear and anxiety caused by ongoing threats from someone. From the beginning of the case, the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission and the Philippine Senate, which have targeted former mayor Guo, dismissed his claims as ‘figments of imagination.’ Mico Clavano IV, spokesperson for the Philippine Department of Justice, stated, “The Department of Justice takes (Guo’s statements) very seriously” and announced plans to investigate the alleged death threats.
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