DOJ to clarify why Guo graft case was filed with Tarlac RTC

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Monday that he would ask the Office of the Ombudsman why the graft case against dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo was filed before a Tarlac regional trial court (RTC).

“We will ask for clarification on this matter. We will write to the Ombudsman on this matter kasi baka na oversight lang. Baka hindi nila natignan ng husto kung bakit na file ‘yan sa RTC,” Remulla said in an ambush interview.

(We will seek clarification on this matter. We will write to the Ombudsman regarding this, as it might be an oversight. Perhaps they did not look closely enough and that's why that was filed in the RTC.)

The graft charge against Guo was filed before the Capas, Tarlac RTC Branch 109. The court later issued an arrest warrant against her.

This stemmed from the complaint filed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government against Guo and other local officials before the Office of the Ombudsman over her alleged links to the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator in Bamban.

According to Remulla, the case should have been filed before the Sandiganbayan.

“Parang nagkamali yata ‘yung prosecutors ng Ombudsman. Na i-file ‘yan sa Tarlac kasi salary grade 30 si Alice Guo and 26 and above, dapat sa Ombudsman na ‘yan at sa Sandiganbayan,” he said.

(It seems like the prosecutors from the Ombudsman might have made a mistake in filing that in Tarlac. Alice Guo has a salary grade of 30. Those with a salary grade of 26 and above should be handled by the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan.)

Senator Risa Hontiveros, the chairperson of the Senate panel conducting an inquiry into Guo, previously questioned why the case was filed in Tarlac.

Guo is facing a human trafficking complaint stemming from the raid on a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator hub in Bamban, as well as a money laundering complaint before the DOJ.

A quo warranto petition has also been filed against her before a Manila court, as well as a petition to cancel her birth certificate before a Tarlac court.

Guo was nabbed by Indonesian authorities in Tangerang City last Wednesday. She arrived in the Philippines early Friday morning. — DVM, GMA Integrated News