Sheila Guo confirms escaping PH with siblings Alice and Wesley Guo by boat

August 27, 2024 , 04:29 PM

(August 27, 2024) – Shiela Leal Guo revealed during the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights hearing on Tuesday, August 27, that she, along with her siblings Alice and Wesley Guo left the Philippines by riding several boats going to Malaysia.

Guo recounted that a van picked them up from a farm, and although unsure of the exact duration, she estimated the journey took about five hours. They started their land journey at around 7 p.m., reaching a small white boat close to midnight.

Guo could not specify which part of Luzon they boarded the boat from, but she mentioned that after boarding a ship, they transferred to another vessel before reaching Malaysia.

This led some senators to question if Alice Guo and her siblings used a backdoor route to leave the country. They asked what the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is doing to monitor and secure the nation’s ports.

The PCG stated that they primarily inspect passenger vessels due to their main objective of ensuring maritime safety and security. However, they also check small boats and fishing vessels, although they admitted that it is challenging to monitor all boats, especially smaller ones.

“The challenge is the porous nature of our coastline. Very open kasi ‘yung ating coastline. But nonetheless, through the developments that I have mentioned, we are beating up or building up our capacity to cover as much as we can,” according to the PCG.

Meanwhile, different government agencies, including the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), have various theories on how Sheila and her siblings left the country. The NBI suspects that the Guo siblings might have boarded a speedboat in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, heading toward Sabah, Malaysia, as it is the nearest point.

On the other hand, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada suggested that the Guos might have departed from Pangasinan.

“Sa bayan na ‘yun sa Sual, Pangasinan, may daungan dun. I have information, may office received information na pumapasok ang mga Chinese nationals doon, mga empleyado ng POGO na dinadala sa Bamban. Pwede ring lumayas doon at kumuha ng barko papunta sa abroad, maliit na barko. ‘Yun lang ang aking theory,” Estrada said.

(With reports from Maeanne Los Baños-Oroceo, News5)
(PB)

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