Alice Guo’s escape prompts PCG to review rules before departure

MANILA, Philippines — Following Alice Guo’s escape, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is now considering revising its rules to include non-common carriers in its pre-departure inspection (PDI).

Guo, the ousted mayor of Bamban town in Tarlac, has confirmed he will leave for Malaysia by yacht in July.

His case was raised by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III during Tuesday’s Senate Finance Subcommittee hearing on the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) proposed budget for 2025.

READ: Alice Guo reveals she fled the Philippines on a yacht

The PCG is an agency attached to the DOTr.

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“Let’s just assume they went by yacht, from a small boat to a big boat… Can the role of the PCG be the same? Na intercepte nyo ba dapat yun?” Pimentel asked.

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(Let’s just assume that’s true, that they left on a yacht, from a small boat to a large boat… Should the PCG have a role in this? Should you have intercepted it?)

In response, PCG Commander Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan pointed out that according to their existing circular on pre-departure inspection (PDI), “vessels that are not common carriers are not included in the PDI.”

READ: Shiela Guo confirms she fled the Philippines with siblings Alice and Wesley by boat

“And that’s why we’re revising the circular now, your honor, so that the Coast Guard has a role to play in enforcing the law on these types of vessels,” Gavan said.

According to the PCG chief, non-common carriers will now be covered by the implementation of the PDI.

The PCG hopes to have the revised rules ready for implementation by October, Gavan added.

“And you have a legal basis to do that?” Pimentel asked, to which Gavan replied yes.

“So you don’t need a law?” the senator asked again.

And when Gavan again answered yes to his question, Pimentel pointed out that the PCG could have revised its circular even before the Guo incident.

“Why do we need an incident like Alice Guo before we can anticipate and covet such a scenario?” the senator asked.

Finally, Pimentel thanked Gavan for his honesty.

“The Philippine Coast Guard does not lack legal basis to act. It is just that in their regulations, siguro hindi nila anticipate, so does nakakita nung butas and I am sure hindi lang sila ang gumamit ng butas na yan,” he said.

(The Philippine Coast Guard does not lack the legal basis to act. It’s just that perhaps their regulations did not anticipate it, so someone saw the loophole, and I’m sure they were not the only ones who took advantage of it.)

“So we are going to create porous borders, external borders, external coasts… I hope the Philippine Coast Guard will share your observation with other agencies…” the senator added.

(So ​​our borders, our boundaries, our coasts are so porous… I hope the Philippine Coast Guard will share this realization with other agencies…)

Guo has been under investigation by the Senate Committee on Women over her alleged ties to a Philippine offshore gaming hub in her hometown of Bamban.

The Senate had ordered her arrest in July for her repeated refusal to participate in the investigation, but she was not arrested in Indonesia until September 4. She is currently being held at the Philippine National Police detention center.