MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine police’s intelligence group got backlash at the Senate on Tuesday, October 8, for enlisting as an asset a woman named “Jessica Francisco” to intercede in the arrest of Alice Guo, despite the shady record of the woman who was later identified as textbook scam suspect Mary Ann Maslog.
Maslog, who used Jessica Francisco as her alias, had been charged before the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan over the P24-million textbook scam, but she evaded those charges by faking her own death and fleeing to the United States. Maslog, now detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) after the court reissued the warrant against her, attended the Senate’s hearing on Tuesday.
Maslog claimed that due to her contact with Sual, Pangasinan Mayor Liseldo “Dong” Calugay, the Philippine National Police Intelligence Group (PNP-IG) “tapped” her to convince Guo to surrender. Maslog also claimed that she was in Indonesia when Guo was arrested there, and that her flight expenses were reimbursed by the PNP.
Bristling at the government expense, senators called in Maslog’s police contact, PNP-IG officer-in-charge Brigadier General Romeo Macapaz to the hearing via video call. Macapaz clarified that they did not reimburse Maslog for her Indonesia flight, and that “hindi ko po talaga alam kung bakit siya nanduon sa Indonesia (I really do not know why she was there in Indonesia.)” Macapaz also said that it was Maslog who offered her intercession, not the other way around.
In police operations, an asset like Maslog is treated as an “action agent.” Senators asked Macapaz why, despite resources and in spite of her record, they would still trust Maslog to be their agent.
“From her statement, may direct contact siya sa attorney ng hinahanap natin, so we believed na positibo ‘yung ibibigay niya na impormasyon, dahil may abogado siyang kausap (From her statement, she has a direct contact to the attorney of the person we were looking for, so we believed she would give us positive information, because she was talking to a lawyer),” Macapaz said.
The lawyer is Stephen David, whom, as senators pointed out, is very easily accessible. Even reporters have direct access to David.
Maslog also said that she is able to directly contact the Indonesian police personnel who conducted the operation that led to Guo’s arrest in greater Jakarta on September 3.
“Really?” Senators Risa Hontiveros, Jinggoy Estrada, and Joel Villanueva said in unison, in disbelief. This prompted more grilling of Macapaz on why he would allow Maslog such close access to police operations.
Dela Rosa’s ‘A1’ information
As the hearings progressed, Maslog’s presence in the hearing became more apparent.
Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said he had “A1 information” that “someone from Malacañang is instructing” Maslog to get Guo to sign an affidavit that would supposedly pin down former president Rodrigo Duterte, Dela Rosa, and others in the POGO mess. This was allegedly supposed to happen when Maslog visited Guo in her detention cell upon her return to the Philippines.
Macapaz confirmed that they allowed Maslog to visit Guo in the PNP custodial center twice “out of gratitude.”
“There is mishandling of an agent, o baka meron kang alam na mas mabigat na trabaho na ibinigay kay Mary Ann Maslog kaya wala kang control sa kanya (or maybe you know of bigger tasks given to Mary Ann Maslog so you have no control over her) because somebody above you is controlling Mary Ann Maslog,” said Dela Rosa.
“I have an information, you cannot deny to me, na siya’y inuutusan ng (that she’s being instructed by) somebody from Malacañang to make Guo sign an affidavit implicating me, former president Duterte, Senator Bong Go, and [police major general Romeo] Caramat as people behind the POGO operations,” said Dela Rosa.
“Wala po akong alam diyan (I don’t know anything about that),” said Macapaz. Maslog also denied it.
Maslog, however, wrote a name on a paper, which for a while appeared as sensitive information. She wrote “Faeldon,” referring to Duterte’s former Customs chief, Nicanor Faeldon.
Guo clarified it immediately, saying that when Maslog visited her in jail, they got to talking about a photo that earlier circulated on social media showing her in a group photo with Duterte as well as Faeldon. Guo said that the photo was taken in July 2022, when Duterte was no longer president, and that she knew Faeldon as the former customs chief has a goat farm in Bamban, Tarlac.
“We’re all being scammed,” Hontiveros sighed in frustration, revealing that Maslog “tried to pull a fast one” on the Senate yet again some time ago. Maslog, Hontiveros said, introduced herself to the Senate as a consultant of the Indonesian embassy to be able to join a meeting between senators and Indonesian representatives.
“She is a scammer to the max,” said Estrada.
But Dela Rosa insisted that “she’s not scamming, there’s something heavier here,” repeatedly mentioning his information about the alleged conduit from Malacañang.
Upon further questioning, Macapaz said he was trying “to get other information” from Maslog. That piqued Dela Rosa’s curiosity once more, but Macapaz refused to say what that information was, requesting for an executive session instead.
“Can I request for an executive session?” asked Macapaz, but senators quickly refused. Dela Rosa, claiming that he understood Macapaz’s dilemma as the senator was once in the police force, vouched for an executive session.
However, the Senate hearing ended past 6:30 pm Tuesday, without clarity of Maslog’s true role in the story. – Rappler.com
