Lawyer who claims he saw Alice Guo vows to prove Aug. 14 meeting
MANILA, Philippines — Atty. Elmer Galicia, the lawyer who claimed he personally saw dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo last August 14, has pledged to cooperate with authorities to substantiate his statement.
This was according to Caloocan City Prosecutor Darwin Cañete, who accompanied Galicia on Tuesday to the Department of Justice to speak with investigators from the National Bureau of Investigation.
READ: BI: Alice Guo flew out of PH illegally based on intel
Galicia was the lawyer who notarized Guo’s counter-affidavit seeking the dismissal of her qualified human trafficking complaint. It was filed by her lawyers at the DOJ last Friday.
His notarization of Guo’s counter-affidavit last week is being scrutinized as the Bureau of Immigration, in a statement Monday evening, revealed that the former mayor “illegally traveled to Malaysia as early as July.”
Galicia did not grant a media interview, but Cañete spoke on his behalf.
Article continues after this advertisement“He committed to file a counter affidavit to cooperate so we will be waiting for him to put it in written form,” Cañete told reporters in a chance interview.
Article continues after this advertisementAsked what specific evidence Galicia needs to present to verify his meeting with Guo on August 14, Cañete said that this is not for him to determine.
“We will not be judging what evidence he needs to show; that’s up to him to volunteer any kind of information,” he said.
“At this point, we just like to thank him for cooperating with us, to accepting our invitation to give light what happened and wait for him to document with whatever evidence he has to explain what actually happened,” he added.
READ: Guo personally had her affidavit notarized on Aug. 14, says lawyer
Bulacan Provincial Prosecutor Sonny Ocampo, who also accompanied Galicia at the DOJ, told reporters that the lawyer maintained his claim that he indeed spoke with Guo last week.
“It appears that on August 14, 2024 at around 7 o’clock p.m. noong dumating siya sa opisina, nandoon na ‘yung isang Land Cruiser; onboard si Ms. Alice Guo,” Ocampo said, referring to Galicia.
Ocampo said another person informed Galicia that Guo would be at his office for notarization.
“Nagkausap sila ni Alice Guo doon sa baba ng kanyang opisina nakita niya at nagbigay…nagprisinta ng driver’s license si Alice Guo sa kanya and then he notarized the country-affidavit that was due to be submitted to the DOJ for preliminary investigation,” he added.
(Atty. Galicia spoke with Alice Guo downstairs at his office. He saw her, and she presented her driver’s license to him. He then notarized the counter-affidavit that was to be submitted to the DOJ for the preliminary investigation.)
