Alice Guo, Harry Roque likely took same escape route — Bureau of Immigration

March 18, 2025 | 2:13pm

MANILA, Philippines — Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque likely took the same escape route as dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo when they left the Philippines, according to the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

Guo, believed to be the Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, evaded Philippine authorities in 2024 and left the country, despite a lookout bulletin order. She has been implicated as a mastermind in the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) scandal, somehow securing a local executive post despite dubious birth records.

While Guo is now back in the custody of Philippine law enforcement, questions remain about how she managed to escape the country.

But Guo is not the only former government official to leave authorities scratching their heads.

Roque, who once served as spokesperson for the highest official in the land, also left the country illegally while facing charges of human trafficking related to POGO operations in Porac, Pampanga. He also has an arrest order from the House of Representatives.

In a Senate hearing on Tuesday, March 18, Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said that both left the country through the same backdoor channel.

Guo is believed to have left through Tawi-Tawi, from where she entered Sabah.

Roque was seen in Tawi-Tawi on the morning of Sept. 2, 2024. Two days later, on September 4, he was confirmed to be in the United Arab Emirates.

“Since Atty. Roque has no recorded departure in the BI’s records, he most likely took the same route as Alice Guo in leaving the country by using a backdoor exit in Tawi-Tawi,” Viado said. 

The central point of the hearing was to answer the question of how Guo managed to escape the Philippines, and the Bureau of Immigration has been under pressure to figure it out. However, Viado insisted that Guo used illegal channels beyond the bureau’s scope to escape. He also explained that the bureau is severely understaffed.

Despite the understaffing, Viado maintained that no bribery took place. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that money played a significant role in their escape.

“Any powerful individual backed by the POGOs or [has] access to funding and the resources, such as the POGOs can easily sneak out of our borders and enter other neighboring countries,” he said. 

Roque has become an apparent globetrotter after escaping the Philippines, with authorities believing he traveled to Dubai, Shanghai, and Macau. He also visited Japan and attempted to board a flight to the United States, but he was not allowed on the plane.

The former presidential spokesperson is now in The Hague, Netherlands, for the International Criminal Court (ICC) trial of former President Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity. Roque is petitioning to be part of Duterte’s legal counsel.

While in The Hague, Roque said that he is seeking political asylum in the European country.