DISMISSED Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo is possibly heading to the Golden Triangle in mainland Asia, where her family has business interests, according to Winston Casio, spokesman of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).
Casio made the remark when asked during a news forum in Quezon City on Saturday about the possibility that Guo would go to China.
“No,” Casio stressed. “She (Guo) will definitely not go to China in as much as she is already a person of interest as far as China’s concerned because she’s accused of a serious crime in the Philippines in relation to illegal gambling – and we know how strict China is in relation to gambling in their own territory. So, definitely, she would not be heading to any of those territories.”
“Now, what is the feasible territory that she would head into? As the, as the commission is concerned, as far as the PAOCC is concerned, we’re confident that she’s trying to get into the Golden Triangle because the family, the Guo Family has business interest, gambling interests in Cambodia. So, that would be the safest bet that we have as of this moment,” Casio added.
Casio was referring to the “Golden Triangle” — an area of about 367,000 square miles located in South Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand, according to the World Atlas.
Although Cambodia is not part of the Golden Triangle, it borders Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline along the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest, according to data.
Casio also said a fugitive would not dare enter countries where there is an extradition treaty.
“If I am a criminal from the Philippines, I will not go to countries where extradition between that territory and the Philippines exists and I will not go to territories that are party to the international… to the United Nations… UNTOC so to speak, United Nations Convention on Transnational Crime. I will never go to those places kasi madali po akong ibabalik,” Casio said.
Meanwhile, the government is trying to determine exactly where Guo will land, as the Golden Triangle is considered a very porous area for transnational organized crimes, he said.
“It depends where in the Golden Triangle she will land…So, the Golden Triangle, those countries are very porous in boundaries as I imagined and we know what the Golden Triangle entails when we talk about transnational organized crime,” Casio said.
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