Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz shares this undated photo, which, he says , shows dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with members of the media on Thursday, August 22, 2024. (Photo from PAOCC Usec. Gilbert Cruz)
Two anticrime bodies have opposed the counteraffidavit submitted by dismissed Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac, in response to a complaint for qualified human trafficking, saying she has been out of the country since mid-July and could not have appeared before a notary public to prepare the document.
READ: Alice Guo’s passport reported to Interpol – Hontiveros
In a two-page motion submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police (PNP-CIDG) asked a DOJ panel of prosecutors to deny Guo’s motion to reopen her case and admit the counteraffidavit.
Guo earlier missed all three hearings of the preliminary investigation on July 5, July 22 and Aug. 6 at the DOJ where she was supposed to respond to the complaint, which accused her of a nonbailable offense.
State prosecutors denied her bid to extend the deadline for filing a counteraffidavit and, on Aug. 6, submitted the trafficking complaint for resolution.
Gone since July 18
Last week, the expelled public official, through her lawyers, submitted a motion to reopen her case with a counteraffidavit notarized by lawyer Elmer Galicia on Aug. 14.
But according to the PNP-CIDG and the PAOCC, Sen. Risa Hontiveros’ revelation on Monday that Guo left the country on July 18, as well as supporting statements from other government agencies, cast doubts on Guo’s capacity to still execute a counteraffidavit.
“The doubt on respondent Guo’s presence or absence in the country since July 18 puts into question the possibility of her appearing before a notary public, much less, subscribe and swear by the counteraffidavit, now sought to be admitted,” the PAOCC and PNP said.
Bulacan encounter
They said Guo did not personally appear before any member of the panel of prosecutors to submit her motion and counteraffidavit to the DOJ.
Galicia appeared at the DOJ on Tuesday and claimed that he last saw Guo on the night of Aug. 14, according to Bulacan Provincial Prosecutor Sonny Ocampo and Caloocan City Prosecutor Darwin Cañete, who are part of the panel handling the Bamban Pogo case.
As quoted by Ocampo, Galicia said he helped Guo with the document while she was in a vehicle parked outside his office at Barangay Tungkong Mangga in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.
The lawyer said Guo, who had companions in the vehicle, presented her driver’s license as proof of identity.