Ombudsman orders dismissal of Guo

MANILA, Philippines — Still in hiding after being ordered detained by the Senate, Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac has been ordered dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman for grave misconduct.

The 25-page decision signed by Ombudsman Samuel Martires on Aug. 12 also perpetually disqualified Guo from public office and ordered the forfeiture of all her retirement benefits.

Bamban Vice Mayor Leonardo Asuncion, business permit and licensing officer (BPLO) Edwin Ocampo and municipal legal officer Adenn Sigua were found guilty of conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service and suspended for three months.

Also found guilty of conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service were former and incumbent members of the Sangguniang Bayan or municipal council: Johnny Sales, Jayson Galang, Nikko Balilo, Ernesto Salting, Jose Salting Jr., Robin Mangiliman, Jose Aguilar, Mary Andrei Lacsamana and Ranier Rivera.

For those who are no longer in office, the penalty is convertible to a fine equivalent to their salary for three months, which may be deducted from their retirement benefits, accrued leave credits or any receivables from their office.

The ombudsman’s Field Investigation Bureau-Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices has been ordered to implement the dismissal order against Guo and report to the central office within five days regarding the implementation.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) was ordered to look into the possibility of filing appropriate charges against former Bamban mayor Jose Antonio Feliciano, who was not included in the complaint against Guo and the others.

It was last May when the DILG lodged a complaint before the ombudsman against Guo and several officials of Bamban. The complaint stemmed from Guo’s issuance of business permit to POGO firm Zun Yuan Technology Inc. which had its business operations inside the eight-hectare property in Bamban owned by Baufo Land Development Inc.

The DILG said its investigation as well as results of the raid conducted by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) revealed that Zun Yuan was involved in various illegal activities.

Despite this, the DILG said, Guo did not cancel or revoke the POGO hub’s business permit as she turned out to have business interests in Baofu.

Zun Yuan’s Baofu compound was raided last March 13 on reports that incidents of human trafficking and serious illegal detention were happening inside.

The same compound was raided in February 2023 when the POGO firm was still named Hongsheng Gaming Technology Inc., over a supposed fraudulent cryptocurrency investment operation. It was renamed Zun Yuan after the raid.

The DILG said its task force’s investigation showed that Guo’s supposed divestment of her shares in Baofu through a deed of assignment “is simulated,” as the P2.5 million involved appeared to be not commensurate to her investment in the company.

The ombudsman, in an order on May 31, placed Guo under preventive suspension for up to six months pending its decision on the DILG’s complaint.

Guo, however, went into hiding after the Senate ordered her arrest last month over her refusal to participate in the investigation on criminal activities of POGOs.

Baofu head

The ombudsman said its investigation revealed that Guo remained to be in control of Baofu even after she assumed her mayoral post in 2022.

“Needless to stress, when respondent Guo started to discharge her duties and responsibilities as Municipal Mayor, she remained to be the real, true and actual president of Baofu Land Development, Inc. and stands to benefit from the continued operations of Hongsheng and Zun Yuan,” the ombudsman said.

“This is a clear conflict of interest. The element of corruption, willful intent to violate the law and to disregard established rules are all quite evident. Respondent Guo must be held liable for the same,” the ombudsman added.

The ombudsman agreed with the position of the DILG that Guo’s supposed divestment of her shares with Baofu was a sham, as evidenced by her continued representation of the POGO hub in various transactions.

“Despite Guo’s supposed divestment, she applied for Building Permit for Proposed #1 Commercial Building of Baofu on 27 September 2021 and Building Permit No. 202207031 was issued to her on 21 July 2022; she also represented Baofu in its application for Environmental Compliance Certificate, and as late as 19 November 2021, she still signed (as owner) the Sworn Accountability Statement part of the ECC of Baofu... Hence, she remains to have financial/business interest in Baofu,” the ombudsman’s ruling read.

Furthermore, the ombudsman said Guo, as mayor, still issued business permit to Zun Yuan despite the latter’s failure to secure the required Fire Safety Inspection Certificate from the Bureau of Fire Protection, in violation of the Fire Code of the Philippines.

The ombudsman also said Guo did not revoke the business permit of then Hong Sheng (now Zun Yuan) despite an order dated July 7, 2023 issued by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. directing the company to “cease all gaming activities,” following the February 2023 raid.

The ombudsman said that during the clarificatory hearing done as part of the investigation, municipal councilor Rivera said he was summoned by Guo to her office and specifically given instruction to ensure that a “Letter of No Objection” would be passed by the Sanggunian in favor of Zun Yuan.

Quo warranto

Despite the ombudsman’s order, the quo warranto petition filed against Guo will still proceed, as she may appeal after the dismissal order, according to Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra.

Guevarra said that if the quo warranto petition, filed before a Manila trial court, is successful, “it will make Guo ineligible to run for any elective public position in the future.”

In late July, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed a quo warranto petition seeking the ousting of Guo on the grounds that she is a Chinese national and had misrepresented herself as a Filipino citizen “to advance her fraudulent schemes.”

It asked the court to declare Guo’s proclamation as Bamban mayor null and void and for her to be ousted from the post.

The OSG earlier filed a petition before a Tarlac trial court seeking the cancellation of Guo’s birth certificate on the grounds of her failure to comply with the legal requirements of late birth registration.

With Guo’s whereabouts unknown, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has summoned her to personally appear and answer the charges of material misrepresentation against her.

In a two-page subpoena, the Comelec Law Department notified Guo that a complaint for violation of the Omnibus Election Code had been filed against her.

Alice Manaloto, Guo’s secretary, received the subpoena but claimed her staff were unaware of her whereabouts and may not be able to hand over the subpoena to the dismissed mayor.

The Law Department also directed Guo to personally submit a counter-affidavit and other documents within 10 days from receipt of the subpoena.

Comelec Central Luzon Assistant Regional Director Elmo Duque said they went to Guo’s house and office to serve the subpoena. A caretaker at her residence and one of her staff members received the documents.

“At the moment, we have served the subpoena,” Duque said.

According to Duque, the dismissed Bamban mayor is required to personally appear before the Comelec and failure to do so would be considered a waiver on her part.

A fact-finding probe revealed that Guo’s fingerprints in her voting records and those in the records of the Chinese individual Guo Hua Ping at the National Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Immigration belong to the same person.

Dismissal lauded

Meanwhile, Senators Risa Hontiveros and Sherwin Gatchalian lauded the ombudsman’s decision.

“I commend the ombudsman for this sound and sensible judgment,” Hontiveros said in a statement.

“Alice Guo or Guo Hua Ping, a Chinese national, does not deserve to be a Philippine mayor. She should have been stripped of that title immediately after we confirmed that she was not Filipino,” she said. “But as long as she is not found, our search for justice will not be complete.”

Gatchalian said “Guo can run but cannot hide from the long arm of the law.”

Her being on the run is proof that she was “the mastermind and the one who moved to build the POGO in Bamban involved in illegal activities such as human trafficking, torture, and money laundering,” Gatchalian added.

In a test message, PAOCC executive director Gilbert Cruz said Guo’s dismissal by the ombudsman “serves as a clear reminder that our criminal justice system is working.”

“Let it be known that PAOCC and its partners will always fight for our people regardless of the challenges ahead,” he said. — Daphne Galvez, Mayen Jaymalin, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Emmanuel Tupas