Former Senator Panfilo Lacson revealed on September 11 that a Filipino-Chinese friend had informed him that the former president had proposed a monetary transaction before fleeing the Philippines in July.
Lacson quoted his friend on the radio saying: "When the situation became very urgent, and she might have been hiding, she contacted him through a mutual friend and indicated that there would be a reward if he could introduce Alice Guo to his contacts."
He added: "According to him, as long as she gets help, the offer is 1 billion pesos."
Lacson clarified in a message to Inquirer.net that this money was not for her escape, "but to resolve her legal issues with institutions like the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission."
He added: "Their meeting was before her escape."
He described his friend as a major businessman in China and claimed to have connections with some people within the first family's circle.
Lacson said: "The Filipino-Chinese businessman claimed that he did not forward the message to his contacts."
The former senator said that to prove his claim, the Chinese businessman even showed a photo of him with Alice Guo.
The businessman did not reveal whether he had business dealings with Alice Guo, but Lacson was sure his friend was not "directly or otherwise" involved in the online gambling industry.
In the radio interview, Lacson suggested that it was necessary to delve deeper into Alice Guo's background and her connections, warning of "potential national security risks."
He said: "Testimonies from her former constituents unanimously agree that she governed well in the community of Banban, Danluo Province. If she can now resolve her issues, it cannot be ruled out that she might run for Congress. If she is a foreign spy, it would be very detrimental to us, as being a member of Congress, she would have access to highly confidential documents."
Subsequently, he urged the intelligence community to include Alice Guo in the scope of critical information investigations and conduct more thorough record checks and background investigations.
