MANILA, Philippines — A former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief was reportedly one of the "coddlers" of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo wherein he was apparently under her payroll. Retired general Raul Villanueva, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. senior vice president for security and monitoring cluster, revealed this on Tuesday at the resumption of the Senate inquiry on illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) in Tarlac. He made the revelation when Sen. Risa Hontiveros, chairman of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, asked whether there were high ranking officials who helped Guo escape in July. "I don't have the name. [But] there were some rumors in the intelligence community that a former chief PNP [was involved in her escape]. The intelligence community is still confirming it." Guo admitted that she signed her affidavit dated Aug. 14, 2024 first week of July or way before she fled the country--which according to senators showed that her lawyers knew of her plan to escape. Guo, believed to be Chinese under the name Gua Hua Ping, and her siblings Shiela and Wesley, fled to Sabah, Indonesia middle of July at the height of the Senate investigation on human trafficking in POGOs in Tarlac and Pampanga. The Guo sisters were arrested separately in Indonesia. Meanwhile, Sual, Pangasinan Mayor Liseldo Calugay denied reports that he and Guo were lovers and business partners. Guo and Calugay attended the resumption of the Senate inquiry on POGOs in Tarlac. Calugay's staff had reportedly helped Guo in having her affidavit notarized on August 14 or on a date when she had left the country. Sen. Risa Hontiveros, slammed the ex-mayor for continuing to evade the senators' queries with regard to her business interests in Tarlac. Sen. Joel Villanueva asked Calugay whether he and Guo were "lovers in POGO." Calugay, in Filipino, replied, "No [we're not lovers]." Asked whether they owned a business together, Calugay said, "No. not even one." Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada repeatedly asked Calugay whether the Alicel aqua farm in Sual, Pangasinan was jointly owned by Calugay and Alice. He said the farm's name could be a combined name of Alice and Liseldo. Hontiveros agreed with him.