Alice Guo's camp asks court to dismiss quo warranto petition

The camp of dismissed Bambam, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo has asked a Manila court to dismiss the quo warranto petition seeking her removal from public office, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said Tuesday.

In a message to reporters, Guevarra said the motion is up for resolution after it was heard by the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 34 on August 30.

“If her motion to dismiss is denied, she will be ordered to file her comment or answer to the petition for quo warranto. Thereafter, the court will conduct hearings and then render judgment,” Guevarra said.

GMA News Online has sought comment from Guo’s camp but has yet to receive a response as of posting time.

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) had filed the petition against Guo in late July.

In August, the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed and perpetually disqualified Guo from public office.

It found that Guo’s acts such as her involvement in the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator hub in her locality showed a “willful intent on her part to violate the law or disregard established rules.”

According to Guevarra, the OSG and the Ombudsman’s order comprise a “double-barrel approach.”

“The OSG’s quo warranto is based on guo’s ineligibility to hold public office, to begin with. The OMB’s order does not dwell on Guo's eligibility or qualification, but on unlawful acts she committed while holding public office,” he said.

“The OSG seeks her ouster; the OMB seeks her removal. In both cases, though, guo may be permanently barred from running for/holding public office,” he added.

Meanwhile, he said that the hearing for the petition for the cancellation of Guo’s birth certificate will be held by the Tarlac City Regional Trial Court on September 18.

Guevarra earlier said if cancelled, Guo would lose her most important defense evidence about her identity.

Aside from this, Guo is facing a human trafficking complaint in relation to the raided POGO hub as well as a money laundering complaint before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The former mayor, for her part, has denied the allegations against her. —VAL, GMA Integrated News