No prisoner swap for Guo release: PBBM

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

Guo was flown back to Manila Friday morning after her arrest in Jakarta on Sept. 3. (PNA file photo by Avito C. Dalan)

MANILA – No exchange of prisoners was made with the Indonesian government for the release of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Friday.

Guo was flown back to Manila Friday morning after her arrest in Jakarta on Sept. 3.

The Indonesian media previously reported that a supposed request from Jakarta was made to trade Guo with high-profile Australian drug suspect Gregor Haas, who is also wanted in Indonesia.

“Wala namang nag-swap (There was no swap),” Marcos said, noting that the news of prisoner exchange only came from an unofficial report from the Indonesian press.

“Hindi official ‘yon, so no. But I can explain, hindi naging simple ang pag-uwi ni Alice Guo dito sa Pilipinas. It wasn’t simple at all (That is not official, so no. But I can explain that her return was no simple task at all). We were negotiating very intricate, very sensitive and very delicate details for the last maybe 48 hours,” he said.

Marcos said the government has been in touch with its contacts from Indonesia, which helped facilitate Guo’s transfer.

“Dahil sa pagpunta ko sa ibang mga bansa, Indonesia being one of them, at naging malapit kami ni President Jokowi, naging bahagi ‘yon (Because of my official travels abroad, Indonesia being one of them, President Jokowi and I became close),” he said.

“Kaya’t kahit na hindi ganoon ka–simple ang pag-transfer, ating napakiusapan naman ang ating mga kaibigan sa Indonesia na pabayaan na ang Pilipinas, kunin na siya at ibalik dito sa Pilipinas (That is why even when the transfer was not simple, we were able to appeal to our Indonesian friends to leave it to the Philippines and allow us to ferry Guo back to the country),” Marcos said.

Meanwhile, Marcos is expecting to hear from Guo how the operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) in Bamban expanded its size.

“What I want to hear from her is for her to lay out exactly how these POGOs became so large, it’s basically a criminal enterprise,” he said.

“As mayor, for her to say she did not know this was going on, it’s very difficult to believe,” he said.

Marcos said Guo has a lot of questions to answer, including where she acquired her wealth and how she came to position.

“All these questions have actually been asked by both the House and the Senate. I just hope she answers it better than her cohorts, sina Cassandra Ong at si Shiela [Guo], (na) very evasive makasagot (in her answers),” he said.

“It will not help her at all to be evasive. Mas bibigat ang magiging problema niya kung hindi siya magsabi ng totoo (It would only add to her problems if she won’t be truthful with her answers),” he said.

A mere selfie

Meanwhile, Marcos defended Filipino officials and authorities who drew flak over photos with Guo while she was being brought back to Manila.

“I think that is part of the new culture now na nagpapakuha lagi ng kahit ano kasi ipo-post nila— ‘tingnan mo kasama ako sa team na umaresto sa ganyan, ganyan (They take a photo so they can post it online and say ‘look I was part of the team who arrested her),’” Marcos said.

“Hindi mo naman mapigilan ang tao na ngumiti. So they just had a selfie. I don’t think there’s much more to it than that— nagpa-selfie sila (You can’t restrict a person from smiling. So they just had a selfie. I don’t think there’s much more to it than that— they took a selfie),” he said.

Guo remains in PNP custody

Guo, meanwhile, will remain under the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) custody after the Tarlac court granted her lawyers’ request to maintain the status quo.

Speaking to reporters in Camp Crame, Quezon City, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said the court granted the “verbal request” of Guo’s camp.

“After the court granted their request to retain the custody under the PNP, they (Guo’s lawyers) said they will not post bail for now,” she added.

She also said they are now looking into Guo’s claim of getting death threats.

Fajardo, meanwhile, defended Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. and PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil who were seen in photos with Guo, saying these were intended only for documentation purposes.

“Let us not put too much weight on it but if there are those who are offended, we apologize to them. I think it’s but normal for anyone whose picture is being taken to smile, but it does not necessarily follow that there is malice in these photos,” she added. (with Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)