SUSPENDED Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, business permit and licensing officer Edwin Ocampo, and legal officer Adenn Sigua have failed to convince the Office of the Ombudsman to allow them to return to their respective offices.
In a nine-page resolution dated June 18, 2024, the Ombudsman denied their motions for reconsideration on the ground that it found “no compelling reason to reconsider and lift the order of preventive suspension” while the administrative cases against them are being adjudicated.
The three are facing charges of grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, gross neglect of duty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
The charges were based on a complaint filed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) 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 for alleged human trafficking and serious illegal detention.
In her motion for reconsideration filed last June 6, Guo assailed the suspension order, saying there is no strong evidence of guilt since she violated no rule in granting the permits to Zun Yuan.
She said the Mayor’s Permits for 2023 and 2024 were issued in favor of Zun Yuan only after the company complied with all the requirements set by the Business Process and Licensing Office (BPLO) of the municipal government of Bamban and paid the corresponding fees.
In denying the respondents’ MRs, the Ombudsman said the evidence against Guo remains strong because of her “undeniable business interest in Baofu” as shown by the electricity supply account for the company in her name; her grant of the business permit in favor of Baofu and Zun Yuan as municipal mayor; and proof of prior connection between Guo and Sigua, who was the one that notarized the deed of absolute sale of eight parcels of land that became the Baofu Compound.
ILBO ISSUED
The Department of Justice said an immigration lookout bulletin order (ILBO) has been issued against Guo, former Technology Resource and Livelihood Center chief Dennis Cunanan and 17 others who were the subject of a human trafficking complaint filed by authorities last week in connection with the operation of a Philippine Offshore Gaming facility in Bamban.
“Under the ILBO, the Bureau of Immigration is tasked to monitor and alert the authorities if any of them tried to leave the country,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said in a statement.
The ILBO is different from a precautionary hold departure order (PHDO) since it is for monitoring purposes only and is not a sufficient prohibition to bar someone from leaving the country.
Only the courts can issue a PHDO.
Remulla said the DOJ will ask for a PHDO against Guo, Cunanan and the other respondents within the week.
“The Department will ask for the issuance this week of the Precautionary Hold Department Order,” he said.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said his office received the 3-page ILBO dated June 21 from the DOJ and was already implemented last June 3 against a Chinese woman included in the list.
“According to the said ILBO, considering the gravity of charges, subjects may attempt to place themselves beyond the reach of legal processes by fleeing the country, hence the BI is ordered to relay to the DOJ attempts to depart to obtain information for the proper course of action to be undertaken by immigration officers,” Tansingco said.
Tansingco said the alert had been encoded in their system to enable immigration officers to detect any attempts to travel.
The Chinese woman intercepted by immigration authorities was identified as Zhang Jie, 30, who attempted to board a flight to Jinjiang, China at the Davao International Airport.
“Officers were alerted of her records, prompting them to conduct secondary inspection and verification with the DOJ, in compliance with the ILBO,” Tansingco said.
He said they have reason to suspect that Zhang has visa problems, declaring herself unemployed although she presented a 9(g) commercial employment visa.
Foreigners who have ceased employment from their petitioning company are required to surrender their ACR I-Cards and downgrade their visas.
Zhang was taken into custody and transferred to the BI Warden’s Facility in Bicutan, Taguig City pending the resolution of the deportation case to be filed against her.
