The Philippines: suspended mayor Alice Guo misses another hearing

Alice Guo failed to attend the Department of Justice hearing on human trafficking.

The Philippines.- On Monday (July 22), Alice Guo, the suspended mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, was again absent from the Department of Justice (DOJ) preliminary hearing regarding the human trafficking charges filed against her and other co-respondents. She had also failed to appear on July 4.

Guo and her co-respondents were granted an extension until August 6 to submit counter-affidavits, while the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) have added to their complaint based on the testimony of four new witnesses.

Winston Casio, an official from the PAOCC, said the witnesses will attest to not being allowed to leave the premises of gaming operators. He said another Filipino respondent, who was allegedly involved in the management of Zun Yuan, Baofu and Hongsheng Gaming Corporation, has been added to the lawsuit.

If proven guilty, Guo and others implicated could be sentenced to life imprisonment and fined from PHP2 to PHP5m.

Last Week, Guo issued a statement against senators Risa Hontiveros and Sherwin Gatchalia. She said they should focus their attention on “many critical issues such as national security, poverty, unemployment, food shortage, health care delivery, environmental degradation, and human rights violations” instead of “threatening her with arrest.”