Solicitor General: Critical issue is Guo’s citizenship
THE Office of the Ombudsman yesterday released an order placing Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, Business Permit and Licensing Officer Edwin Ocampo, and Legal Officer Adenn Sigua under preventive suspension for six months based on an administrative complaint filed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Ombudsman Samuel Martires signed the directive last May 31 and told the respondents the suspension is immediately executory even if any of them files an appeal or a petition for relief.
Assistant Ombudsman Rex Reynaldo Sandoval was told to implement the suspension order and a copy to the office of DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos.
Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros, who chairs the Committee on Women, and Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian welcomed the preventive suspension slapped on Guo, saying it is “a move in the right direction.”
Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, meanwhile, said the biggest and most critical question that Guo has to answer is the issue of her citizenship.
Guevarra also said his office will continue investigating Guo’s background despite her suspension to find out if there is a basis to file a quo warranto petition questioning the validity and legality of the mayor holding a public office.
DILG Undersecretary Juan Victor Llamas filed the complaint against Guo and her co-respondents, alleging gross misconduct, serious dishonesty, gross neglect of duty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
The case stemmed from an investigation by a task force created by the DILG to investigate human trafficking and serious illegal detention after a Vietnamese sought assistance from the Bamban, PNP against the offshore gaming operations of Zun Yuan Technology inside the Baufo Land Development Inc. in Bamban, Tarlac.
A subsequent raid on March 13, 2024 by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) resulted in the recovery of evidence linking Guo to Zun Yuan, including a statement of account with the Tarlac Electric Cooperative Inc. in her name.
Records of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Central Luzon showed the same Baufo compound had been raided on February 1, 2023 due to the fraudulent cryptocurrency investment operation of Hongsheng Gaming Technology Inc, another offshore gaming operator.
An investigation by the DILG task force yielded the following information: First, it was Guo who purchase eight parcels of land at Barangay Anupul, Bamban Tarlac in February 2019 with the Transfer Certificates of Title in the name of Baufo represented by the mayor as president. Bamban’s present Municipal Legal Officer, Adenn Sigua, notarized all the deeds of sale on the said properties.
Second, it was Guo who applied for locational clearance for the different building projects of Baufo, invited businessmen to invest in the Baufo Mixed-Use Development Project, and represented the company in applying for a Letter of No Objection at the Sangguniang Bayan of Bamban. The Ombudsman noted that Guo had admitted owning a 50 percent stake in Baufo but claims she divested them before she assumed office as mayor in 2022.
Third, she granted Baufo a business permit on October 25, 2022 after the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) canceled Hongsheng’s operating license.
Despite the absence of a Fire Safety Inspection Certificate (FSIC), Guo also issued two business permits to Zun Yuan — on June 27, 2023 and again on January 17, 2024.
Ocampo was implicated in the questioned issuance of permits in favor of Zun Yuan despite the insufficiency of supporting documents.
In its order, the Ombudsman said the nature of the positions held by Guo, Sigua, and Ocampo makes it necessary to place them under preventive suspension to give investigators a free hand in doing their job.
“This Office founds sufficient grounds to preventively suspend (respondents) considering that there is strong evidence showing their guilt; …that their continued stay in office may prejudice the investigation; and that there is a need to preserve document and evidence pertaining to this case which they may have control and custody,” the Ombudsman said.
LINKS TO POGOS
Hontiveros said she has called for Guo’s suspension after conducting an ocular inspection of the raided POGO hub in Bamban, Tarlac.
“We also received information that she tried to obstruct the ongoing investigation immediately after the POGO was raided. This should have already warranted a suspension.
We only hope this is not too late,” Hontiveros said.
Hontiveros said Guo “undoubtedly has ties” with the POGO hub as evidenced by the documents retrieved from the raided center in Bamban.
She hopes the Executive Session set to be held this Wednesday with national security officials and other law enforcement agencies would clearly establish Guo’s alleged links to the POGO industry.
Gatchalian said the preventive suspension of Guo is “a move in the right direction” which will allow authorities to freely investigate “without fear of a cover-up while she is in office.
“Even in the filing of charges against Mayor Guo, the Senate remains committed in fleshing out details relating to the establishment of a POGO hub in her town that we suspected to be involved in transnational crimes such as money laundering and human trafficking,” Gatchalian said.
Sen. Joel Villanueva said the DILG should intensify efforts to locate illegal POGOs to put an end to crimes related to the industry as there are reports that several exclusive villages nationwide are being used as scamming hubs hiding under legitimate POGO firms.
CONFLICTING INFO
Guevarra said the Senate inquiry on Guo’s citizenship has shown a lot of conflicting information, if not disinformation, adding that Guo’s citizenship is the “most important critical question” they have to clarify.
“We need to be able to discern what evidence is competent enough, that it will hold before the court, and citizenship. It is the most important and crucial question,” Guevarra said.
Guevarra said the OSG is currently looking at Guo’s birth certificate, the nationality of her parents, and why her birth was registered late.
“We need to look at so many documents like her birth certificate, the fact of late registration, the nationality of her parents, and so forth and so on. Because all of those matters will have a bearing on her citizenship. And that’s what we’re trying to find out,” Guevarra said.
“Those matters will have a bearing on her citizenship, so that is what we are trying to find out,” he added.
Earlier, Guevarra said his office had formed a team to determine if Guo is “ineligible” to hold public office.
He said his office may also file a quo warranto case against Guo if it finds good reason to do so.
Under Rule 66 of the Rules of Court, the Solicitor General or a public prosecutor may initiate the filing of a quo warranto proceedings upon the orders of the President or upon his or her initiative.
Guo previously claimed her father was Chinese and her mother Filipino.
But Guo’s birth certificate showed conflicting details.
In a related development, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission spokesperson Winston Casio told reporters that Guo could face tax evasion charges as well as violation of the Securities Regulation Code regarding her alleged connection to the operation of a POGO hub in her town that was raided by authorities.
“As far as we are concerned, we saw violations with regard to tax evasion, but as to anti-graft, we could no longer charge her as she was already charged,” Casio said, adding: “We may also file charges for violation of the Securities and Regulation Code against her and several others.”
Casio said he still could not quantify the amount of taxes that Guo has not paid but considering her lifestyle, it could be “huge.”
He added the PAOCC, along with other agencies such as the DOJ, PNP, Bureau of Immigration and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, would provide more details on the issue this Wednesday when the Senate holds an executive session.
QUO WARRANTO PETITION
Guevarra said the OSG may not directly file a petition based on Guo’s questionable Filipino citizenship “but on other grounds like residency, or literacy, or disqualifications according to the Election Code.
“We’re not looking only at a quo warranto petition with the objective of ousting her. Kasi (Because), there may be some other complaints that we need to file first before going into a quo warranto petition,” Guevarra told reporters at the House where he attended a hearing of the committee on appropriations on the COVID-19 response of the Duterte administration where he served as justice secretary.
Guevarra stressed that Guo’s citizenship is “the most important and crucial question (that need answers).
“We do not want to tell everyone of our findings until we are able to gather all the necessary information. We do not want to make conclusions based on incomplete data,” he said. — With Raymond Africa, Ashzel Hachero and Wendell Vigilia
