No swap deal for Guo return - DILG chief

Metro Manila, Philippines – Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos denied a supposed prisoner swap deal between the Philippines and Indonesia for the return of ex-mayor Alice Guo.

The agreement, which was raised in Indonesian media, would require exchanging Australian drug suspect and fugitive Gregor Johann Haas - who has a drug smuggling case in Indonesia and was arrested by the Bureau of Immigration in May - with Guo.

Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos, who led the arresting team in Indonesia, said there was no such deal.

“I want to make that very clear. It’s not because of that. It’s because of the deportation,” he said.

In a chance interview with reporters, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also denied the report.

“Hindi naging simple ang pagbalik ni Alice Guo dito sa Pilipinas [Alice Guo’s return to the country was not simple.]. It wasn’t simple at all. We were negotiating very intricate, very sensitive, and very delicate details for the last, what, maybe 48 hours,” said Marcos.

Abalos said Indonesian authorities gave the Philippine government until the morning of Sept. 5 (Thursday) to take custody of Guo.

He said the arresting team went to Indonesia without the assurance of bringing the dismissed mayor home.

“Itong operasyon na ‘to ay dahil sa tinatawag nating police to police. Nagkaroon ng memorandum of understanding ng kapulisyahan ng Pilipinas at kapulisyahan ng Indonesia,” said Abalos.

[Translation: This is called police-to-police operations. The police of the Philippines and Indonesia had a memorandum of understanding.] – with reports from Tristan Nodalo