Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo on Thursday submitted her counter affidavit on the material misrepresentation case filed against her, in time for the final and extended deadline set by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Comelec Chairman George Garcia confirmed Guo’s submission on Sept. 12, which the poll body had set as the deadline to submit the counter affidavit after it partially granted the dismissed mayor’s second motion for extension of time.
The poll chief denied that the Comelec was “singling out” Guo in relation to the material misrepresentation case.
“Just the other day, for your information, at least five candidates, former candidates, were recommended by the [Comelec] law department to be charged with misrepresentation. Gusto kong patunayan, di po tayo nagsi-single out kay Mayor Alice Guo lang sapagkat regular po kami na may mga misrepresentation cases,” Garcia told reporters at the sidelines of the hardware acceptance test of automated counting machines (ACMs) for the May 2025 polls.
(Just the other day, for your information, the Comelec law department recommended that at least five former candidates be charged with misrepresentation. I just want to prove that we are not singling out Mayor Alice Guo because the Comelec regularly handles misrepresentation cases.)
The Comelec law department will submit its recommendations on Guo’s case to the Comelec en Banc by next week.
Comelec representatives formally served a subpoena against the dismissed mayor on Aug. 13.
Guo was given ten days, or until Aug. 23, to file a counter affidavit but the period was moved to Aug. 27 due to public holidays, the poll chief said.
The dismissed mayor’s appeal for an extension until Sept. 1 was approved, but was extended again due to inclement weather.
In filing the second appeal, Guo’s legal counsel David Buenaventura Ang and Jamilla Law Office conveyed difficulties communicating with Guo, while the final draft of her counter affidavit was still pending signature and verification.
The Comelec partially granted the second motion and gave their camp a ten-day extension until Sept. 12, instead of the 15-day extension requested by Guo’s camp. The poll body provided that no further extension would be given to the former mayor.
Guo, who faces complaints of human trafficking, undesirability and misrepresentation under Philippine immigration laws, was brought back to the country on Sept. 6 aboard a private plane.
The dismissed mayor, along with 35 others, is facing 87 counts of money laundering filed by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) amounting to around P7 billion in relation to the raided POGO hubs in Bamban, Tarlac and Porac, Pampanga.
A graft case against Guo is currently pending before the Capas, Tarlac Regional Trial Court-Branch 109.
Meanwhile, a quo warranto petition has also been filed against her before a Manila court, as well as a petition to cancel her birth certificate before a Tarlac court.
She disappeared from public eye after attending Senate hearings in May into her alleged involvement in the raided POGO hub in her locality. This prompted the Senate to issue an arrest order against her.
Guo left the country in July despite her name being on the immigration lookout bulletin. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
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