Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo (Photo courtesy of PNP)
MANILA – Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo may arrive in the Philippines from Indonesia late Thursday night, a police official said.
In a press conference at Camp Crame, Quezon City, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said Philippine and Indonesian officials held a meeting to ensure proper coordination on the turnover of Guo.
"We will provide you with updates as soon as we get information because of course, there are still procedures before their departure. Although it is a chartered flight, it still has to go through the normal immigration process," Fajardo said.
Joining the meeting are Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, PNP Intelligence Group officer in charge Brig. Gen. Macapaz, and Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Gina Jamoralin.
Abalos and the two PNP officials left Manila on Wednesday night and arrived in Jakarta early Thursday.
In an update, Fajardo said the chartered flight carrying Guo, Abalos and Marbil will arrive at the Royal Star Hangar in Pasay City at 8:30 p.m.
After a short press briefing, Guo will be taken to Camp Crame for physical and medical examination.
"She will undergo a medical examination to ensure that she is in a good condition before we turn her over to the Senate, which has issued an arrest warrant," Fajardo said.
The dismissed mayor, her siblings Wesley and Shiela, and their parents have a standing arrest order issued by the Senate for their refusal to appear in the ongoing investigation into the operations of the Zun Yuan Technology Inc., the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) hub in Bamban which was raided by authorities in March.
The investigation also led to questions on the nationality of the dismissed mayor, after the Philippine authorities revealed that her fingerprints matched that of a certain Chinese national identified as Guo Hua Ping.
In an Aug. 12 order, the Ombudsman dismissed Guo from the service for grave misconduct and perpetually banned her from holding public office.
This was in connection with the charges filed by the DILG against Guo for her alleged involvement in the operations of POGO.
Misrepresentation case
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has directed its law department to submit to the en banc its recommendation on the material misrepresentation complaint against the dismissed mayor.
“Kailangan by next week meron na pag-uusapan ang Comelec en banc na recommendation nila. Hindi naman napakahirap gawin ang recommendation (By next week, the Comelec en banc should have a recommendation from the Law Department regarding the case. It’s not difficult to come up with a recommendation,” Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said in an interview on the sidelines of the signing for the provision of printing services for official ballots to be used in the 2025 midterm elections between the Comelec, National Printing Office and South Korean firm Miru Systems at the Palacio del Gobernador in Manila.
Garcia said this is part of the normal process.
“This is not being rushed. This is the ordinary course of things. They might say it is being railroaded. No, it is not," he added.
At the same time, Garcia added that the case was submitted for resolution as the preliminary investigation has ended after Guo’s camp failed to file a counter-affidavit.
“Nobody came to file a counter affidavit. Not even a representative or lawyer came to file a counter affidavit. When they asked for an extension, they promised that they would be able to file if they were given a few more days. It only means whatever happened on those days, is not our problem anymore. They have to explain things,” he added.
Earlier, the camp of Guo asked the Comelec to extend the filing of the counter-affidavit for another 10 days or from Aug. 23 to Sept. 1.
However, Guo did not submit her comment on the material misrepresentation complaint by the law department in connection with the certificate of candidacy she filed when she ran in the May 2022 elections as Bamban mayor. (with Ferdinand Patinio/PNA)
