Bamban councilor named acting mayor
TAX evasion raps were filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) yesterday against ousted Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo and two others before the Department of Justice.
Also charged were Jack Uy and Baofu Land Development Inc. Corporate Secretary Rachelle Joan Malonzo Carreon.
The case stemmed from Guo’s admission during the Senate inquiry on the operation of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Bamban that she transferred her shares in Baofu to Uy.
The BIR complaint said no capital gains tax (CGT) and documentary stamp tax (DST) returns worth a total of P500,000 were filed and paid concerning the transfer.
Last Tuesday, the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed Guo from her post after initially suspending her and several local officials in Bamban for six months. She has not been seen in public for a long time now.
The Ombudsman decision was based on the complaint filed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government accusing her and other Bamban officials of committing grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, gross neglect of duty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service in connection with their alleged involvement in the POGO operation.
Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. yesterday named Bamban, Tarlac councilor Erano Timbang as the acting tow mayor.
Guo, Uy and Carreon were charged under Section 254 (Attempt to Evade or Defeat Tax), and Section 255 (Failure to File CGT and DST Returns) of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997.
Carreon was also charged with violating Section 250 of the NIRC for failure to file or supply certain information.
“While the parties to the transfer are Guo and Uy, Carreon as the Corporate Secretary of Baofu Inc. will also face the same criminal case for tax evasion due to her deliberate failure to report the non-filing and non-payment of CGT and DST returns to the BIR. She even verified under oath the General Information Sheet reflecting the transfer even if no taxes were paid and returns filed,” the BIR said.
BIR chief Romeo Lumagui Jr. said the agency is currently auditing the entire business operations of Guo in light of the Senate hearings that uncovered alleged illegal activities.
“Pivotal government documents have already been requested and the BIR is waiting for these documents so we can finalize the audit of her business operations,” Lumagui said.
Guo, he added, will be given due process and the opportunity to explain her side.
“However, if she fails to pay her tax deficiency, we will proceed to file another criminal case for tax evasion,” Lumagui added.
Guo is already facing a human trafficking complaint before the DOJ in relation to the operation of the POGO hub in Bamban raided by the authorities last March this year.
Guo did not attend the preliminary hearings of the human trafficking complaint and has yet to file her counter-affidavit despite being given an extension that lapsed last August 6.
A quo warranto petition had also been filed by the Office of the Solicitor General before the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 34 seeking to declare Guo’s proclamation as Bamban mayor null and void and her ouster.
The OSG said Guo is a Chinese citizen and is not eligible to run for public office, adding that she committed acts that constitute grounds for the forfeiture of her office.
Guo had repeatedly insisted that she is a Filipino.
ACTING MAYOR
Timbang was named acting mayor two days after the Ombudsman meted penalties to Guo and other Bamban officials over the operation of a POGO hub in the town.
Several other officials, including Vice Mayor Leonardo Anunciacion, were ordered suspended for three months for conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
Timbang, who has opposed the operation of POGO in the town, was among those cleared by the Ombudsman.
Last June, Guo was suspended for six months by the Ombudsman pending an investigation of the cases lodged by the DILG against her and other officials.
This paved the way for Anunciacion’s assumption as acting mayor and Timbang, the town’s First Councilor, as acting vice mayor.
“We go by succession,” said Abalos, announcing Timbang’s assumption yesterday morning. Timbang took his oath later in the afternoon.
Abalos said Anunciacion will assume the mayoral post after serving his three-month suspension.
“Guo was given the penalty of perpetual disqualification from office so the one who should assume (as mayor) is the vice mayor. But the vice mayor was suspended for at least three months,” said Abalos.
“After three months, (Anunciacion) will assume as mayor, that’s succession,” said Abalos.
Abalos said the DILG welcomed the decision of the Ombudsman, adding the cases lodged by the DILG task force were “really correct.”
“This was reviewed by the Ombudsman and came out with the decision,” said Abalos, who urged the camp of Guo to respect the decision.
The Senate has ordered the arrest of Guo and others for failing to attend the Senate probe regarding offshore gaming hubs that are linked to criminal activities.
On the whereabouts of Guo, Abalos said: “We cannot say where Guo is but what’s important is that the PNP is trying to find her.”
COMELEC’S TAKE
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it would immediately execute the decision of the Ombudsman to slap the penalty of perpetual disqualification on Guo.
Speaking at a media forum in Manila, Comelec chief George Garcia said they will prevent Guo from running in the 2025 polls.
“The decision of the Ombudsman is immediately executory in administrative cases.
Although not yet final, it is already executory,” said Garcia, adding that only an order from a higher court can prevent the implementation.
“We will implement unless there is a restraining order from the Court of Appeals or a higher court,” said Garcia.
In implementing the ruling, he said the Comelec will still accept the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) of Guo in case she files one since it is ministerial on the part of the commission.
“She’ll be able to file her COC but we will have it administratively canceled out of respect to the Ombudsman’s ruling,” said Garcia.
In its 25-page decision, the Ombudsman ordered Guo removed from office and barred her from holding any other government post in the future.
Garcia said the Ombudsman’s ruling does not affect the motu proprio complaint filed against Guo.
He said the material misrepresentation complaint lodged before the Commission’s Law Department will continue to undergo preliminary investigation with a subpoena having been served to Guo.
“As far as the Comelec is concerned, ours is a separate, independent case against Mayor Guo. Even though she is removed by the Ombudsman, the Comelec will just continue to appraise her case,” said Garcia.
“We will just push through and wait for her counter affidavit in the subpoena issued by our Law Department,” he added.
He said the case of the Comelec is a criminal complaint involving Guo’s alleged misrepresentation in her Certificate of Candidacy (COC) in the 2022 polls.
Last Tuesday, the Comelec Law Department served a subpoena for Guo at her office in Bamban and directed her to personally file her counter-affidavit within 10 days or be deemed as having waived her right to present her defense. — With Victor Reyes and Gerard Naval
