Mug shots of Alice Guo, also known as Guo Hua Ping, released on September 6, 2024. | PHOTO: Official Facebook page of Benhur Abalos
MANILA, Philippines — Not only Atty. Elmer Galicia, but also all lawyers from ex-mayor Alice Guo’s (real name: Guo Hua Ping) camp might face sanctions from the Department of Justice (DOJ) due to discrepancies in the counter affidavit signed by Guo before her departure from the Philippines, according to Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Ty.
Galicia notarized Guo’s counter affidavit for her human trafficking complaint and claimed to have seen her on the night of August 14.
READ: Alice Guo admits signing counter-affidavit before fleeing PH
But in a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Guo admitted to already signing the last page of her counter-affidavit even before she fled the country in July.
In an ambush interview also on Tuesday, Ty said Galicia and all of Guo’s lawyers will be held accountable for the questionable document.
“‘Yung mga abogado sa mga legal team ni Alice Guo ay papasagutin namin. Hindi lang ito ‘yung notaryo, kasama rito ‘yung mga abogado na humarap dito sa preliminary investigation at ‘yung tagapagsalita niya,” said Ty.
(We will hold accountable the lawyers on Alice Guo’s legal team. It’s not just the notary; this includes the lawyers who appeared at the preliminary investigation and her spokesperson.)
Ty said Guo’s lawyers “benefitted” from the counter affidavit as it caused a delay in the case.
“Para sa amin, wala namang duda eh na peke ‘yung counter affidavit. Hindi dapat tinutularan ‘yung mga ganyang mga galawan ng mga abogado,” he added.
(For us, there is no doubt that the counter affidavit is fake. Such actions by lawyers should not be emulated.)
Asked what the DOJ is actually planning to do, Ty said, “Pinaparesearch na ‘yan ngayon sa team natin sa Bamban. For sure, mayroon kaming kasong ihahain sa Korte Suprema na disciplinary case para doon sa mga possible misbehavior ng mga abogado.”
(That is currently being researched by our team in Bamban. We are certain that we will file a disciplinary case with the Supreme Court for any possible misconduct by the lawyers.)