DISMISSED Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo yesterday filed her counter-affidavits before the Department of Justice on the falsification, tax evasion, and graft complaints filed against her.
The complaints stemmed from her connection with the operation of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO) facility in the town that was raided by authorities last year due to information about alleged illegal activities, including human trafficking.
Wearing a bullet-resistant vest and a Kevlar helmet, Guo was brought to the DOJ amid tight security from her detention cell in the Pasig City Jail where she is detained.
“Nagfile lang kami ng counter-affidavits sa mga kaso. Ito ‘yung na-file ng National Bureau of Investigation two or three months ago, so we just filed the counter-affidavits for the cases,” Guo’s lawyer, Nicole Jamilla, told reporters at the DOJ after the hearing.
“There are three complaints, so we filed three counter-affidavits,” she added.
Jamilla said the falsification case was anchored on the allegations that Guo was not a Filipino citizen. She said Guo maintained she is a Filipino citizen.
“She reiterated that she is a Filipino citizen and there is no falsification when she purchased real properties,” she explained.
Jamilla said for the graft case, Guo also maintained that she did not violate any law, much less the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
“She said she just maintained her duties as a mayor and at the same time she has no connection whatsoever sa kung anong nangyayari sa POGO,” Jamilla added.
For the tax evasion complaint, she said Guo also insisted on her innocence, that she did not deprive the government of anything.
Jamilla said the prosecutors set the next hearing on the cases for June 5.
Guo is also facing money laundering charges before the DOJ.
Early this month, the Pasig City Regional Trial Court junked the demurrer to evidence filed by Guo in the qualified human trafficking case filed against her and several others by the DOJ.
A demurrer to evidence is akin to a motion to dismiss a case due to the failure of the prosecution to prove that the evidence is strong enough to warrant a conviction.
The May 9 ruling by Pasig RTC Branch 167 Presiding Judge Annielyn Medes-Cabelis paved the way for the continuation of the trial of the case against Guo and her co-accused, Rita Sapnu Yturralde, Thelma Barrogo Laranan, Rowena Gonzales Evangelista, and Merlie Joy Manalo Castro.
The case was originally filed before the Capas RTC in Tarlac but the Supreme Court approved the DOJ’s request to a transfer of venue to “safeguard national interest and ensure fairness” in the justice system, considering the personalities involved in the case.
