DOJ filing qualified human trafficking case vs Guo, others

MANILA, Philippines —  The Department of Justice (DOJ) will file charges of qualified trafficking against dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo over her alleged involvement in a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGhin her town that was raided over illegal activities including torture, forced labor and cyberscams.

According to DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Ty, state prosecutors found “prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction” against Guo and other respondents.

In particular, Guo is culpable under Section 4(l) of the Expanded Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012, which provides that those who organize an establishment that engages in human trafficking are just as liable.

“The defense of Guo’s legal team and other respondents that they did not recruit or torture victims will not be given weight under our new law,” Ty said in a press briefing.

He reiterated the provision from the trafficking act, saying “once it is found that you are involved in the establishment or organization of a company that is involved in human trafficking, you can be charged with human trafficking.”

Aside from Guo, Ty said they will also file charges against Huang Zhiyang, the so-called “boss of all bosses” of POGOs, Zhang Ruijin and Lin Baoying.

Also included was former Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC) deputy director general Dennis Cunanan as well as other incorporators.

Ty refused to name other respondents to keep the case “as confidential as possible” due to “flight risk” among respondents while they are not yet included in the immigration lookout bulletin.

The DOJ official said the panel of prosecutors did not give weight to the supposed counter-affidavit of Guo, which her camp had attempted to submit despite the case having already been submitted for resolution.

There are also doubts as to the authenticity of the counter-affidavit as it was sworn before a notary public in August but Guo had allegedly left the Philippines in July.

The physical presence of the affiant is needed for a document to be notarized by a lawyer commissioned by the Supreme Court (SC).

Ty, however, said that a counter-affidavit must be submitted physically by the affiant before a prosecutor.

“A counter-affidavit may only be sworn before a notary public if the prosecutor is unavailable or absent. On that, Guo’s counter-affidavit already had red flags. It seems that the prosecutors did not give weight to her fake counter-affidavit,” he said.

Ty also said the resolution of the preliminary investigation into Guo’s case could have been finished much earlier if not for the many “delaying tactics” employed by the dismissed mayor’s legal team.

He cited the requests of her legal team for resetting and extensions due to the alleged inability of Guo to appear before the DOJ due to fear of her mental health, as well as their motion to reopen the case for them to be able to submit her counter-affidavit, albeit belatedly.

“We cannot deny that Guo’s lawyers employed many delaying tactics to hamper the resolution of this case,” he said.

For his part, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) spokesman and director Winston Casio said it is important that the alleged financiers of the POGO are also charged.

“The crimes that are alleged to have been committed by Alice Guo would not have happened if these people did not enable her through their finances,” he said in the same press briefing.

Transfer to NCR

According to the DOJ, the charges against Guo will be filed before the Capas, Tarlac Regional Trial Court, which has jurisdiction over the case.

However, Ty said the DOJ has already requested the change of venue of the cases already filed against other respondents concerning the raided POGO hub and is still waiting for the response of the SC.

This request may already cover the qualified trafficking case that will be filed against Guo.

“It is important for us that the venue of the qualified trafficking case will be transferred from Capas, Tarlac to NCR. It is better that the case will be transferred so there are no doubts,” he said.

If found guilty, Ty said Guo and her co-respondents may face life imprisonment and up to P2-million fine.

DOJ probes P1 billion bribe

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the DOJ is also investigating claims that Guo offered a P1-billion bribe to a Filipino-Chinese trader to help resolve her legal troubles.

He issued the remark after former senator Panfilo Lacson claimed his friend – who had contacts within the circle of the First Family – was approached by Guo before she exited the country.

Lacson said his friend did not help Guo with her request.

“We are waiting for the result of the investigations being done on her background. We are already pursuing what senator Lacson said. We’re aware that there’s more to it than meets the eye,” Remulla said, emphasizing that Guo is not an “ordinary” felon and is “extremely talented.”

“Her game runs deep. Her game is very sophisticated,” he added.

The DOJ chief believes a huge amount of money, possibly amounting to billions of pesos, is being circulated to secure the former mayor.

Graft case transferred

Meanwhile, the graft case of Guo was transferred from a Tarlac court to a Valenzuela court.

According to SC spokesperson Camille Sue Mae Ting, the case’s venue was transferred pursuant to a circular of the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA), which outlined guidelines on cases where the accused is a local official.

“There was no request to transfer the venue of Alice Guo’s case from the Capas RTC (Regional Trial Court) to the Valenzuela RTC,” she said in a statement yesterday.

Citing OCA Circular 10-2024, Ting said that if an accused is a public official, the case shall be forwarded to the nearest RTC of the nearest judicial region from the judicial region where the official holds office.

This, she said, is pursuant to Section 2 of Republic Act 10669, amending the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan.

“In this case, the nearest RTC of the nearest judicial region from Capas is in Valenzuela,” Ting said.

Due to the change in court, the arraignment and pre-trial of Guo in Capas, Tarlac RTC Branch 109 that was scheduled yesterday was cancelled.

The Capas RTC had issued an arrest warrant against Guo for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. The court had likewise committed her to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center.

Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino yesterday lauded the Tarlac RTC’s decision to let go of Guo’s graft case.

He was referring to the decision of RTC Branch 109 Judge Sarah Vedaña-delos Santos to let go of the case because it concerns a former mayor whose jurisdiction falls within the court’s judicial region.

Guo’s graft case was transferred to the Valenzuela RTC, Tolentino said. The graft case should be heard in another court where the judge would not be put under “undue influence,” he said.

“I thank Honorable Judge Delos Santos for acknowledging her oversight – and thus affirming that my position is right,” said Tolentino, who had raised during session the Tarlac court’s lack of jurisdiction over the dismissed mayor.

Tolentino cited Section 2 of Republic Act 10660, which states that “cases falling under the jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Court under this section shall be tried in a judicial region other than where the official holds office.”

“I thank the judge for taking timely steps to rectify the error. The actions of Judge Delos Santos are no less significant as this would prevent undue influence on the case,” Tolentino said.

He said the Senate should now have custody over Guo, because the Tarlac court’s arrest warrant against the dismissed mayor has been voided and the Senate warrant for contempt “should be considered as the only valid warrant of arrest in existence.”

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, for her part, wrote to the Valenzuela RTC clerk of court executive judge Mateo Altarejos to request Guo’s attendance at the next scheduled Senate hearing on Sept. 17.

Hontiveros informed the Valenzuela court of the Tarlac court decision to allow Guo to attend the Senate inquiry into her alleged link to a Chinese syndicate behind illegal offshore casinos and a money laundering ring. — Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Janvic Mateo