THE Office of the Ombudsman unseated embattled Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo for grave misconduct and perpetually disqualified her from government service.
In a 25-page resolution released on Tuesday, the Ombudsman also ordered the forfeiture of all her retirement benefits.
It cited Guo’s close association with the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) in Bamban town, which showed a “willful intent on her part to violate the law or disregard established rules.”
“The series of acts are interconnected leaving no other conclusion than that they were committed by Guo with ulterior motive or self-interest,” the decision stated.
The Ombudsman took into account Guo’s acquisition of property that would become the site of a POGO hub discovered by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission.
It junked Guo’s defense that she had divested her stake in Baofu Land Development, which owned the site where the illegal POGO hub was located.
“This is a clear conflict of interest. The element of corruption, willful intent to violate the law… are all quite evident. Guo must be held liable for the same,” it ruled.
As this developed, the Ombudsman also found 12 other Bamban officials guilty of conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service.
Ordered suspended for three months were; Vice Mayor Leonardo Anunciacion, business permit and licensing officer Edwin Ocampo, Adenn Sigua, Johny Sales, Jayson Galang, Nikko Ballio, Ernesto Salting, Jose Salting Jr., Robin Mangiliman, Jose Aguilar, Mary Lacsamana and Rainier Rivera.
Meanwhile, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said the Ombudsman’s decision was the result of “sound and sensible judgment.”
The Senator noted that Alice Guo or Guo Hua Ping, a Chinese national, does not deserve to be a Philippine Mayor and has no right to wield government authority over Filipinos.
“She should have been stripped of that title immediately after we confirmed that she was not Filipino,” she pointed out.
Despite her dismissal, Hontiveros emphasized that Guo, who is currently in hiding, must still be held accountable for all the crimes she committed.
“I trust that our law enforcers are working double time to catch this fugitive,” she said.
“All these cases against Guo are well and good. But until she has been located, our search for justice will not be completed,” she added.
Hontiveros, who chairs the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, led the Senate investigation on Guo’s true identity until the erstwhile mayor decided to skip the hearings and go underground.
For his part, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra told reporters in a message that his office is poised to pursue the quo warranto case it earlier filed against the dismissed mayor.
He said this move aims to frustrate any attempt from Guo to appeal the Ombudsman’s decision and to make doubly sure that she can never again hold public office.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline Ombudsman orders dismissal from service of Mayor Alice Guo
