THE arrest of Alice Guo in Tangerang City, Jakarta on Tuesday, Sept. 3 by the Indonesian police will have several repercussions in the Philippines. The dismissed mayor of Bamban, Tarlac is now in the custody of the Indonesian Police at Jatanras Mabes Polri, it was announced by the Bureau of Immigration, citing a report of its counterpart in Indonesia.
It has now become incumbent on the government to bring her home, a task given by the Department of Justice to the Bureau of Immigration (BI), for turnover to the National Bureau of Investigation. The Department of Foreign Affairs will somehow be involved in this homecoming operation, too. This is all for the best – to ensure the personal safety of Guo, who is wanted in the Senate to provide more information on the expansive operations of illegal POGOs in the country.
Netizens who were the first to comment on the news have surmised that if President Bongbong Marcos’ target on whose heads will roll on Guo’s escape – top immigration officials – then Alice’s life would be in danger as soon as she lands on Philippine soil and met by BI personnel.
‘Money, with its ability to move things and push people, always plays a role in the scheme of things in the government.’
Alice’s arrest and forthcoming prosecution in connection with whatever cases the government has filed and will soon file against her will have many implications on several government agencies, among them the Philippine National Police, the Department of Justice and its Prosecution Service, the Commission on Elections, the Department of Interior and Local Government, the Philippine Statistics Authority, the BI, the DFA, the local governments of Bamban and Tarlac and of Porac and Pampanga, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., the Land Transportation Office, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Maritime Industry Authority, the PAOCC, regional trial courts, etc. Officials running these agencies all showed some shades of malfeasance and misfeasance in this long-running telenovela in real life.
It is another stroke of luck that the Indonesian police got hold of Alice Guo, even before President Bongbong was able to use the guillotine on who helped her escape. Now, Marcos will not have a hard time on who to punish. Alice can just divulge the names of her benefactors, better in another Senate hearing.
The Senate and the House of Representatives will have the genuine opportunity to introduce new legislation to strengthen the operational systems of the various agencies enumerated above, so that Alice Guo episodes like this one won’t be repeated. For instance, how should the Office of Civil Registrar in towns and cities and the PSA work hand in hand to clear up the mess in fake birth certificates.
Also, the whole nation will definitely monitor and follow up how Alice Guo’s cases will be dispensed with by the prosecution service and the courts. Money, with its ability to move things and push people, always plays a role in the scheme of things in the government. And don’t forget that Alice and her group have plenty of this.
We thank Indonesia and its police force for the arrest of Alice Guo, giving the government the opportunity to prosecute her for whatever crimes she has committed, and for Alice, the chance to clear her name.
