THE six-month preventive suspension slapped on Mayor Alice Guo has been lifted by the Office of the Ombudsman which ruled to fire her instead for grave misconduct in relation to her supposed links with the 10-hectare scam farm that was raided in March.
“The Office finds Alice Leal Guo guilty of grave misconduct for which she is meted with dismissal from service with forfeiture of all her retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification to re-enter government service,” the Ombudsman said in its ruling.
In its 25-page resolution, the Ombudsman said that Guo willfully violated the existing Philippine laws based on obtained records from the time when she was still a private citizen until she became Bamban mayor in 2022.
The Ombudsman also cited Guo’s acquisition of a 10-hectare property which was developed into a POGO hub which was later on discovered breeding a long list of illegal activities which include scam farms, human trafficking, kidnapping, espionage and money laundering among others.
“The series of acts are interconnected leaving no other conclusion than that they were committed by Guo with ulterior motives of self interest.”
The Ombudsman likewise warded off Guo’s defense that she had already divested from her company Baofu, which owned the land where the illegal POGO hub was located.
“This is a clear conflict of interest. The element of corruption, willful intent to violate the law… are all quite evident. Guo must be held liable for the same,” the Ombudsman said.
Guo, who has repeatedly denied backing the illegal POGO hub, was later on discovered to be a Chinese national following the National Bureau of Investigation’s findings that her fingerprints matched that of Chinese national Guo Hua Ping.
Prior to the Ombudsman’s ruling, Guo has gone incognito, for which many are inclined to believe that she has fled the country for good – to evade arrest. (ANGEL F. JOSE)
