Malaysia refused to cooperate in Alice Guo case — SOJ Remulla

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Wednesday said Malaysia refused to share information with the Philippine government about the escape of former Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo due to a previous legal case.

"The case of Alice Guo is a very peculiar case because Malaysia refused to cooperate with us. Malaysia is supposed to give us the information," Remulla said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay.

"They know what flight entered, what aircraft entered, where she was riding but they refused to give it to us for some reasons that were alluded to about the cases of our brothers in the South," he added.

Asked if he was referring to the case involving the Sultans of Sulu, Remulla said yes.

A French arbitration court in February 2022 ordered Malaysia to pay the sum to the descendants of the last Sultan of Sulu to settle a dispute over a colonial-era land deal.

However, a Paris court later upheld the Malaysian government's challenge against enforcing a partial award. This was confirmed by the Cour de Cassation, the Supreme Court for civil and criminal cases in France in November 2024.

Remulla said the government did everything it could, but Malaysia was a "stone wall."

GMA News Online has requested comment from the Malaysian Embassy in Manila regarding Remulla's comments, but it has yet to respond as of posting time.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) still has "no idea" how Guo, also identified by authorities as Chinese citizen Guo Hua Ping, escaped from the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Remulla appealed to Senator Risa Hontiveros, who previously criticized the BI, for understanding.

"That's why hopefully, hopefully Senator Hontiveros will find it in her heart of hearts to understand the dilemma that the BI is facing in this case," he said.

Hontiveros has played key roles in Senate hearings on Guo's escape from the Philippines and the latter's alleged involvement in criminal activities of several Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

During a hearing of the Senate subcommittee on justice and human rights on March 4, Hontiveros gave the BI an ultimatum of 15 days to provide satisfactory answers regarding Guo's departure from the Philippines.

Also in the same hearing, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) Director Ferlu Silvio bared the agency's new theory that Guo and her supposed siblings exited through the so-called "backdoor" in the southern part of the Philippines going to Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia before proceeding to Kuala Lumpur where they started their journey to Batam, Indonesia. — VDV, GMA Integrated News