Bamban mayor accused of identity theft

Alice Guo has been accused of stealing identities from market vendors.

The Philippines.- A Senate investigation has accused Alice Guo, the suspended mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, of allegedly using the identities of vendors from a public market in Tarlac to fraudulently establish Hongsheng Gaming Technology. The ongoing Senate probe heard testimony from Merly Joy Castro, a resident who discovered she was falsely listed as an incorporator of the company.

Castro, a BPO worker, said she had no involvement in the incorporation of any company. She only learned of her alleged involvement after hearing news that she was included in a human trafficking complaint filed by Guo with the Department of Justice (DOJ). Bureau of Internal Revenue lawyer Ralbert Tibayan has confirmed that the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) listed for Castro in the incorporation documents did not match her actual TIN.

Castro also identified other people named, Rowena Evangelista, Thelma Laranan, and Rita Yturralde, as vendors at the market. DOJ Undersecretary Felix Nicholas Ty, who oversees the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, suggested that Castro and other affected vendors cooperate with authorities to provide testimony.

Guo did not attend the session, citing stress and a sense of being prejudged by the committee. Senator Risa Hontiveros, leading the investigation, warned of possible contempt charges if she fails to attend the next hearing.

Earlier this week, Guo was expelled from the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) due to her alleged links to the operation of an illegal offshore gaming operator in her hometown and discrepancies in her identity records.

See also: Philippines: more charges expected against suspended Bamban mayor