Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo on Tuesday said she signed the last page of her counter-affidavit on the human trafficking case filed against before she left the Philippines in last week of July.
The former mayor admitted this at the continuation of the Senate investigation into illegal POGOs when senators scrutinized the counter-affidavit that was notarized on August 14 and was submitted to the Department of Justice on August 16 or a month after Guo supposedly fled the country.
“Your Honor, ‘yung last page ng document na-sign ko po bago po ako umalis…July first week po,” Guo told the senators.
(Your Honor, I signed the last page of the document before I left, first week of July.)
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian asked if the counter-affidavit was already completed when she signed the document, to which Guo responded, “Opo, partially may natapos na po (Yes, it was partially completed).”
Asked if she read the details of her counter-affidavit, Guo invoked her right against self-incrimination.
Guo admitted this after Senator Risa Hontiveros presented a sworn affidavit of one “Ka Dante” who supposedly helped Guo’s staff in the process of notarizing her counter-affidavit.
In Ka Dante’s affidavit, he stated that Cheryl Ordoña Medina, the executive secretary of Sual, Pangasinan Mayor Liseldo “Dong” Calugay who is also suspected as Guo’s lover, called him on August 12 if he knew a notary public who could notarize an affidavit for an unnamed person and asked for assistance to facilitate the same document.
Ka Dante granted Medina’s request “believing that providing assistance would ingratiate” him to the local government of Sual, Pangasinan and its officials.
On August 13, Ka Dante said Medina called him to make arrangements to pick up the document to be notarized and he was instructed to go to Concepcion Road in Concepcion, Tarlac to meet the person whose affidavit would be notarized.
On the same day, Ka Dante said Medina gave him the number of a certain “Kat” to coordinate with.
The person Ka Dante was referring to was Cath Salazar, the executive secretary of Guo and has been working for the latter since 2017. Salazar was present at the Senate hearing.
Ka Dante said in his affidavit that he arrived at the meeting place at around 8:30 a.m. on August 14 and he received a call from Cath to inform him that a certain “Jee” will bring the document to him.
The person he was referring to was Gee Pepito, another secretary of Guo who is also present at the Senate hearing and admitted to meeting Ka Dante as she was instructed to have lunch with him on August 14.
According to Ka Dante, Gee handed the document to him at around 11:30 a.m. and learned that the name of the affiant is Alice Leal Guo.
Ka Dante said in his affidavit that he told Gee that the document that was handed over was unsigned, prompting him to ask the affiant to sign the document.
“[G]ee went to a vehicle across the road to have the document signed by the passenger. The passenger of the vehicle rolled down the window and waved at me. From afar, I saw the resemblance of Mayor Alice Guo and waved back. The passenger rolled the window back up. [G]ee approached me with the signed document and they all left with the vehicle,” Ka Dante’s affidavit read.
According to Ka Dante, he headed to the law office of Atty. Elmer Galicia in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan at around 12:15 p.m. on August 14, but the lawyer told him that the document cannot be notarized without Guo’s presence.
“I called Kat to request that Mayor Guo call me so that Atty. Galicia could be assured that the affidavit is executed voluntarily and that she is still in the Philippines. Mayor Alice Guo assured me and Atty. Galicia that she executed the affidavit and that she is in the country,” Ka Dante said in his affidavit.
Guo’s secretary, Cath Salazar, admitted to the senators that she called Medina to seek assistance on notarizing the document. This, she said, is upon the instruction of Guo.
This admission prompted Hontiveros to believe that Calugay and Guo were “close” despite the denial of the two of any romantic or business relationships.
“Parang hindi totoo ‘yung sagot nila kasi tanong ko close ba, hindi lang silang dalawa bilang business partner o kung ano pa man, close pati kayong mga staff kasi unang may importanteng kailangan si Guo Hua Ping ay in-instruction-an kayong tawagan no other than Ms. Cheryl na nagtatrabaho kay Mayor Calugay,” Hontiveros said.
(It seems their answer was not true because I asked if they were close, not just them as business partners or whatsoever, even the staff because if Guo Hua Ping needs something, there is already an instruction to call no other than Ms. Cheryl who works for Mayor Calugay.)
At that time, Cath Salazar said she was not aware of Guo’s whereabouts and she was just instructed by the dismissed mayor to get the document in a brown envelope from her room in QJJ farm which Gee will hand over to Ka Dante.
The counter-affidavit that was notarized on August 14 was prepared by Gana, Atienza, Avisado Law Firm, according to Guo.
Lawyer Ray Ann Co, a junior partner of the said law firm who also helped in the preparation of Guo’s counter-affidavit, said they sent the draft of the document to Cath Salazar only last August 14.
Co and Salazar both said they were not aware of Guo’s whereabouts at that time.
According to Salazar, the completed counter-affidavit was sent to Guo through messaging app WeChat.
With this, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian believed that Guo’s lawyers were aware that the dismissed mayor would flee the country.
“So ibig sabihin, ‘yung mga abogado niya alam rin na aalis siya kasi pinirmahan niya in advance eh. Finile niya ‘yung counter-affidavit August 14, pero pinirmahan niya first week of July the last page,” Gatchalian pointed out.
(It means her lawyers knew that she would leave because she signed it in advance. The counter-affidavit was filed on August 14 but the last page was signed in the first week of July.)
Co, in response, said, “We really had no knowledge. In fact, we were able to finalize the counter-affidavit last August 14 on the same day we forwarded the same to her secretary.”
Co further stated that they only talked with Cath Salazar because they had “limited communication” with Guo. He said they were only calling the dismissed mayor through phone and they had no personal interaction.
“Sobrang sakto naman ng formatting ng affidavit na ‘to. Talagang signature page lang hinihintay na ikabit sa last page. Ganon ba talaga ang trabaho ng firm sa pag-draft ng counter affidavit para sa kliyente?” Hontiveros quipped.
(It seems the formatting of this affidavit was very exact. Only the signature page was waited to be attached to the last page. Is that how law firms draft counter-affidavit for their clients?) —AOL, GMA Integrated News
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