Justice Minister Jesus Crispin Remulla stated that the government might send a team to Malaysia to further investigate the situation of the dismissed mayor of Banban, Guo Huaping, and her companions who fled there from the Philippines in July.
Remulla mentioned that this plan would be one of the topics discussed with immigration officials on Monday.
"Well, we might really have to send a delegation to Malaysia... If it cannot be done online or via Zoom, video disclosure, then we might send people there," Remulla said.
Guo is accused of being involved in illegal activities with the Philippine offshore gaming operators, or POGO, and she insists that she left the Philippines by sea.
However, Remulla firmly stated that Guo and her companions left the Philippines by plane.
He said that all flights to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from the Philippines had to be checked when Guo left.
"Her name was not on any list on the plane, so we need to find out how this was done. Because, in many ways, this is a national security issue," Remulla said.
Guo Huaping and her so-called siblings, along with POGO company representative Cassandra Li Ong, successfully left the Philippines in July, which embarrassed the immigration bureau as it had assured the public that Guo Aili was still in the country.
Remulla also stated on Monday that the government will downgrade the visa levels of foreigners working in POGO who fail to downgrade their work visas to tourist visas before the deadline of October 15, 2024.
They may stay in the country as tourists until the POGO operations end, but they must leave by December 31, 2024, or they will be considered illegal foreigners.
"We have already downgraded automatically, which means they are no longer allowed to engage in activities other than liquidation, because liquidation is very important as this business needs to put people's money into wallets, into electronic wallets containing their betting funds, and these funds must be returned to the owners," Remulla said.
