Who could it have been? Speculation was rife over the identity of the mystery person who aided dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, when she fled the Philippines last July.
Senators who were probing into Philippine offshore gaming operators and the connections of Guo — believed to be one and the same person as Chinese Guo Hua Ping — did not publicly divulge who that person could be during the Senate hearing on Monday, September 9. But a smattering of clues were dropped throughout the hours-long session that, when combined with other past disclosures in previous hearings, could be sufficient to determine the person’s identity.
While Guo mentioned that there was an “Asian woman” who was with them on their way out of the country, she was careful to say that no Filipino citizen or government official was involved in her escape. She claimed that she did not bribe anyone to facilitate her departure.
Repeated attempts by senators to squeeze information from Guo only left them more exasperated as she repeated almost by rote: “I invoke my right against self-incrimination.” She said she couldn’t reveal the person’s identity in public due to pending legal complaints against her and other safety concerns (Guo has been under the custody of the Philippine National Police).
But if you’ve been monitoring the long-running investigations in the Senate, you would have taken note of certain hints, just like we have — and just like us — you would perhaps come to the conclusion that there appears to be a much bigger fish in this story.
What were some of the clues we picked up?
- The alleged mastermind behind the escape plan is based abroad and had paid for everything. It wasn’t a simple getaway — Guo’s route took her to Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, if she is to be believed.
- The person had access to, or had contacts who had access to, yachts. (WATCH: How Alice Guo escaped from the Philippines)
- Senator Risa Hontiveros revealed that the name Guo wrote down in a sheet of paper and which was shown only to senators had been referenced in a prior hearing.
- Senate Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada suggested that the shadowy figure in question is in Taiwan, and no longer in the Philippines.
- The mystery person, according to Estrada, has not just one or two, but five passports.
- The same person is a holder of passports from Saint Kitts and Nevis, China, Cyprus, Dominica, and Cambodia.
And guess who recently made headlines for owning five passports? Huang Zhiyang, Guo’s business partner.
During a raid on villas in Fontana, Clark, Pampanga, on June 27, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission seized five passports said to be owned by Huang Zhiyang. Could he be the elusive mastermind behind Guo’s escape? Let’s keep on guessing. – Rappler.com