MANILA, Philippines — Former Bamban Mayor Alice Guo's case has been moved from Capas, Tarlac to Valenzuela City in Metro Manila, said Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino on Friday, September 13.
Tolentino had flagged that Guo's case was improperly filed at a Capas court, which is in the same regional trial court (RTC) jurisdiction as Bamban. He noted that Guo, a former mayor, could have influence there. He argued that it should be filed in Valenzuela City, the closest RTC that is purportedly free from bias.
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"I would like to thank the Regional Trial Court of RTC Capas Tarlac Branch 109 for transferring the case of Alice Guo to the RTC of Valenzuela City," Tolentino said in an X post.
Guo was scheduled for arraignment in Tarlac on Friday afternoon, but this was canceled by the Capas court, which agreed with Tolentino's position that they had no jurisdiction.
"Ang tamang RTC na dapat i-file yung kaso, para legal lahat, walang butas, ay ang RTC ng Valenzuela City sa Metro Manila."
In a separate radio interview, Tolentino said that the case folders and records are now being transferred from Tarlac to Valenzuela.
"he arraignment will go to the RTC Valenzuela, so because of that, her arraignment may be next week.," Tolentino said in Filpino on DZRH.
Quandary over custody. The number of concurrent arrest warrants and cases against Guo has created a legal quandary as to who should have custody over her since she was detained by Indonesian authorities and returned to the Philippines.
The Senate was the first to issue an arrest warrant for Guo in June over her failure to attend their hearings on her alleged ties to POGOs. It was the same warrant that authorities brought to Indonesia.
However, on the day that Guo was supposed to return, the Capas court issued an arrest warrant for graft, putting her in the custody of the police.
DOJ's take. Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, meanwhile, argued that Guo should be detained in an immigration facility, since she is a Chinese national who faked her identity as a Filipino citizen.
"It's clear that we're handling an immigration case. The immigration case takes primacy over all that concerns Alice Guo," Remulla said at a briefing on September 11.
Guo faces a long list of cases, including human trafficking, money laundering and misrepresentation.