Suspended Mayor Guo, 17 others placed in immigration lookout bulletin

Suspended Mayor Alice L. Guo of Bamban, Tarlac and 17 others have been placed in the immigration lookout bulletin order (ILBO) to monitor any attempt to leave the Philippines, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Tuesday, June 25.

In a statement, Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the bureau has received from the Department of Justice (DOJ) the June 21 ILBO that ordered the placing of Guo and 17others in the BI’s watchlist.

Aside from Guo, also known as “Guo Hua Ping,” also included in the ILBO are Dennis L. Cunanan, Zhang Jie, Zhang Ruijin; Baoying Lin, Rachelle Joan Malonzo Carreon, Huang Zhiyang, Thelma Barrogo Laranan, Rowena Gonzales Evangelista, Rita S. Yturralde, Merlie Joy Manalo Castro, Yu Zheng Can, Jaimelyn Santos Cruz, Roderick Paul B. Pujante, Juan Miguel Alpas, Katherine Cassandra Li Ong, Wesley Guo, and Julian M. Linsangan III.

Tansingco said that last June 23, one of those in the watchlist identified as Zhang Jie, 30, had been intercepted at the Davao International Airport (DIA) and had been stopped from leaving the country.

Zhang is now detained at the BI’s facility in Taguig City.

“An ILBO is issued by the DOJ instructing immigration officers to double check if there are any pending arrest warrants against the subjects, any violation or infraction, or to monitor their itineraries and whereabouts should they attempt to leave the country,” the BI said.

“According to the said ILBO, considering the gravity of charges, subjects may attempt to place themselves beyond the reach of legal processes by fleeing the country, hence the BI is ordered to relay to the DOJ attempts to depart to obtain information for the proper course of action to be undertaken by immigration officers,” it said.

It also said that the ILBO “states that a precautionary Hold Departure Order will be filed against the subjects,” it added.

The ILBO was issued after a non-bailable qualified trafficking complaint was filed before the DOJ against Guo and several other persons including former Technology Resource Center (TRC) head Dennis L. Cunanan in connection with the illegal operations of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) Zun Yuan Technology Center in Bamban. — Jeffrey Damicog