MANILA – Former Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo and former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque are suspected of using the same backdoor exit in Tawi-Tawi to flee the Philippines undetected, according to Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado.
During a Senate inquiry, Viado explained that Guo most likely left the country via a backdoor route and may have entered Sabah by crossing from Tawi-Tawi. “The Philippines has a porous border, with a coastline stretching 36,289 kilometers, making it difficult to monitor effectively,” he said.
Viado also linked Guo’s escape to Roque’s suspicious departure. Roque was reportedly seen at the Tawi-Tawi airport on September 2, 2024, but was not found in Bongao town after the sighting. On September 4, 2024, Roque was confirmed to have arrived in the UAE, despite having no recorded departure in BI records. Viado suggested that Roque may have used the same backdoor route as Guo.
BI investigators believe both Guo and Roque bypassed official security checks by taking an illegal maritime route from Tawi-Tawi to Sabah, Malaysia—an escape route favored by undocumented travelers.
A 2024 study by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) highlighted that traffickers often prefer sea routes due to tighter airport security, with locals from the ZAMBASULTA region historically traveling to Sabah without passport clearance due to cultural and economic ties.
Viado acknowledged that BI has limited presence at private wharves and ports, which makes these locations high-risk points for illegal departures.
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