Ombudsman Orders Dismissal of Suspended Mayor Alice Guo for Grave Misconduct
ALICE GUO – The Ombudsman orders the dismissal of suspended Mayor of Bamban, Tarlac and the forfeiture of all her retirement benefits.
Suspended Bamban Mayor Guo has yet to be located by the authorities for several weeks now since the Senate released an arrest order. She was cited for contempt after she ditched two (2) hearings set over the illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming operations in her town.
Mayor Guo claimed that she’s innocent from the allegations. Her identity is also being questioned after the fingerprints of Mayor Guo matched with the finger of Guo Hua Ping, a Chinese national who entered the country in 2003.
After the Senate released an arrest order, the upper chamber’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms, in the pursuit to serve the arrest order, visited all the registered addresses of the suspended Mayor but found negative presence.
The authorities also came to her farm and her garments factories but she was not there. Only the accountant of Guo who also has an arrest order was detained by the authorities.
Previously, Attorney Stephen David, the lawyer of Mayor Guo, said that she will snub future Senate hearings. Prior to it, her camp claimed that the Mayor was traumatized from how she was treated and drained from all the allegations.
In a post, the Mayor expressed that she is choosing her health and peace of mind. Senator Risa Hontiveros previously urged Guo to surrender to the authorities if she really wants peace of mind.
The Office of the Solicitor General (SolGen) has filed a quo warranto petition challenging her eligibility for public office amid questions on her nationality. The Commission on Election or COMELEC also approved a misrepresentation complaint agains Guo.
Recently, the Office of the Ombudsman released its findings on the complaints filed against suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, the Ombudsman found her guilty of grave misconduct.
Based on the report, the Ombudsman orders the dismissal of suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo from office “with forfeiture of all her retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification to reenter government service”.
The Office of the Ombudsman reportedly cited Guo’s acquisition of a property that became a POGO hub. It found an “element of corruption” and “willful intent to violate the law”.
“The series of acts are interconnected leaving no other conclusion than that they were committed by Guo with ulterior motive of self interest… This is a clear conflict of interest,” the Ombudsman stated.