The escape of Alice Guo, dismissed mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, is not exactly a surprise for Filipinos, who by now should have a general idea of how graft and corruption works for those who have the resources to buy off government officials in order to get what they want, posthaste.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on X (formerly Twitter) “We will expose the culprits who have betrayed the people’s trust and aided in her flight,” as he said a full scale investigation is underway.
The departure of Guo uncovers the corruption that undermines the country’s justice system and erodes public trust, the Chief Executive added.
Senator Risa Hontiveros bared on Monday that Guo, also identified as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, had already left the country using her Philippine passport. She reportedly flew to Malaysia, met her family in Singapore, and then traveled to Indonesia.
Her escape has been reported to the International Police, which according to Hontiveros, should make her world, and that of her family, smaller.
Given the resources at her disposal, Guo’s escape from the clutches of Philippine authorities can probably be summed up in the saying that goes “money talks, bullshit walks.” The price for her escape was probably steep, considering that she is such a high profile figure right now, but we all know that for those with money, anything is possible in this country.
Hopefully a swift investigation into the people and practices that made this escape possible will lead to reforms that will lessen the influence of money on public officials who should be putting public interest and the common good above everything else in the first place. If this will serve as a catalyst for true reforms that can reduce graft and corruption, even one government agency at a time, then maybe the Filipino people can have something to thank Alice Guo for.*
