MANILA, Philippines — The camp of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo has filed a motion to dismiss the quo warranto petition before a Manila court, which seeks to challenge her right to hold office.
This was confirmed by Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra in a message to Philstar.com on Tuesday, September 3.
According to Guevarra, the motion filed by the dismissed mayor is awaiting resolution by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Manila.
If the motion is denied, she will be required to file a comment or answer to the quo warranto petition.
“Thereafter the court will conduct hearings and then render judgment,’ Guevarra said.
A quo warranto case is a special civil action used to address situations where a person unlawfully holds or exercises a public office without proper authority.
Under Rule 66 of the Rules of Court, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) initiates quo warranto petitions in court.
In this petition for dismissal, Guo does not need to submit a counter-affidavit, as the grounds she raised are "purely legal," according to Guevarra. This is different from her counter-affidavit in the trafficking case lodged before the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The counter-affidavit in the case before the DOJ raised doubts about its authenticity, as the dismissed mayor reportedly left the country before her affidavit was notarized.
Guevarra mentioned that the petition for the cancellation of Guo’s birth certificate will be heard by the Tarlac City Regional Trial Court on September 18.
It could be recalled that the Office of the Ombudsman on August 13 removed Guo from office as she remained “the real, true and actual president” of the controversial Baofu Land Development Inc. which operates the raided Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub in Bamban.
Despite her dismissal, Guevarra previously said that the quo warranto petition is necessary to prevent Guo from holding public office in the future.