Human trafficking complaint vs. Guo, others submitted for resolution

The human trafficking complaint against suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo and others has been submitted for resolution, Justice spokesperson Mico Clavano said Tuesday.

Clavano issued the remark in an ambush interview following the preliminary hearing at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

“Si Mayor Alice Guo and three other Chinese incorporators were not able to file and it was decided by the panel of prosecutors not to give them anymore another chance or another extension,” Clavano said. 

(Mayor Alice Guo and three other Chinese incorporators were not able to file [their counter-affidavits] and it was decided by the panel of prosecutors not to give them another chance or another extension.)

“As to them din po, submitted for resolution na rin ang kasong ito,” he added.

Guo, similar to the previous two hearings, was again a no-show at the DOJ.

The human trafficking complaint was filed in connection to the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Guo’s municipality, where over 800 foreign nationals were rescued.

Meanwhile, Clavano said that three respondents, including former Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC) deputy director general Dennis Cunanan, were granted an extension in filing their counter-affidavits.

He said this was granted for “various reasons.”

“Yung iba po ay wala dito sa bansa, yung iba din ay nag change po ng counsel, so yun yung mga reasons. And one was recently impleaded so tama na rin na nabigyan siya ng extension ng panel of prosecutors,” he said.

(Some were out of the country while others changed their counsel. So those are the reasons. And one was recently impleaded so it’s only right that they were granted an extension by the panel of prosecutors.)

The DOJ set the next preliminary hearing on August 16.

According to the Justice spokesperson, the rest of the respondents were able to submit their counter-affidavits. —LDF, GMA Integrated News