Alice Guo: “I am innocent”

FILE PHOTO: Alice Guo, mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, speaks during the resumption of the Senate investigation into a POGO hub in Tarlac province on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. Guo, who was suspended as mayor of Bamban, Tarlac by the Ombudsman on May 31, 2024, maintained her innocence and vowed to continue defending her “integrity and character.” Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines – Alice Guo, who was suspended as mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, by order of the Ombudsman, protested her innocence and vowed to continue defending her “integrity and character.”

“I respect the legal process and accept the Ombudsman’s decision,” Guo said in a statement on Monday.

“I want to reiterate that I am innocent and have served our city and its people with integrity. I believe this is an opportunity to resolve the allegations against me. I am ready to work with the authorities to ensure truth and justice,” she added.

The Ombudsman’s Office issued the order suspending Guo and two other Bamban officials on May 31. Copies of the order were leaked to the media on Monday, June 3.

READ: Alice Guo suspended as mayor of Bamban, Tarlac

In the order, Ombudsman Samuel Martires said there were “sufficient grounds for a precautionary suspension” of Guo and two other city officials “as there is strong evidence of their guilt.”

Guo, Edwin Ocampo, an official of the city’s business permit and license office, and Adenn Sigua, a city legal officer, were placed on preventive suspension without pay pending the outcome of the investigation against them. However, their suspension cannot exceed six months, according to the Ombudsman.

Alice Guo: This is a violation of my rights

The mayor said she was “deeply saddened” by the allegations against her and regretted that she had been “condemned” before she had even been heard.

Nevertheless, she promised her supporters in Bamban that she would continue to defend her name resolutely.

“This is a violation of my rights as a person and as a leader elected by your votes,” Guo said, apparently addressing her voters.

“However, I will not give up and will continue to defend my integrity and character,” she added.

READ: Bamban Mayor Alice Guo: “I will not resign”

With his order, the Ombudsman granted the request of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to suspend Guo and other local officials.

Last week, the DILG filed charges of grave misconduct, grave dishonesty, gross neglect of duty and conduct detrimental to service against Guo, Ocampo and Sigua for allegedly allowing illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) to do business in Bamban.

Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. had previously stated that the DILG had recommended to the Office of the Ombudsman that the mayor be suspended as a precautionary measure so that she could not influence the investigations against her.

Abalos also said that the seven-member DILG task force investigating Guo’s alleged connection to a pogo had mentioned “disturbing findings of serious illegal acts” that “could have serious legal implications.”

Based on the Ombudsman’s order, the DILG alleged that even though the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) had revoked Zun Yuan Technology’s license as Pogo, Guo neither cancelled nor revoked the business licenses issued to Pogo “due to her business interests in Baofu” (Baofu Land Development Inc.).

Guo is reportedly the president of Baofu, which purchased eight properties in Bamban in February 2019. Baofu is the site in Bamban, Tarlac where Zun Yuan Technology operated until its raid in March.

While Guo claimed that she had divested herself of the company before her election as mayor of Bamban, the DILG found that the amount she withdrew from Baofu – P2.5 million – was “in stark contrast to her investment” in the company.

The Ombudsman’s order also pointed out that Guo Baufo had issued a business license on October 25, 2022, even though Pagcor had revoked the operating license of Zun Yuan, or its predecessor Hongsheng, on October 6, 2022.

“Guo is the victim”

But Guo’s lawyer, Nicole Jamilla, insisted that the mayor was not guilty of “any obvious bias, obvious bad faith or gross, inexcusable negligence.”

It explained that the issuance of the business license to Zun Yuan was merely based on existing procedures and protocols, including those of Pagcor, and that Guo’s failure to immediately revoke the business license was in line with the due process that had to be followed.

“Mayor Guo is the victim here. She is being wrongfully implicated in matters that have their roots in Pagcor’s regulatory responsibilities,” Jamilla stressed.

“The absence of the required elements under RA 3019, Section 3(e), proves that the allegations lack any basis,” she added.

A Senate committee is also investigating Guo’s alleged ties to Pogo and her identity, amid allegations that she may be a Chinese agent or spy trained to infiltrate the Philippine government.

Guo has repeatedly denied the allegations against her.