DOJ: Disciplinary case poised vs. Alice Guo lawyers before SC

The Department of Justice (DOJ) will file a disciplinary case against the legal counsels of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo before the Supreme Court, an official said Tuesday. 

“For sure, meron kaming kasong ihahain sa Korte Suprema na disciplinary case para doon sa possible misbehaviors nung mga abugado,” Justice Undersecretary Nicky Ty said in an ambush interview.

(We will be filing a disciplinary case with the Supreme Court regarding the possible misbehaviors of those lawyers.)

Ty said that the “fake” counter-affidavit submitted by Guo for her qualified trafficking complaint at the DOJ came from her lawyers. 

The counter-affidavit was notarized on August 14 in San Jose Del Monte City, Bulacan. However, the lawyer who notarized the document admitted doing so without Guo's appearance before him.

During a Senate hearing earlier, Guo also said she signed the last page of her counter-affidavit before she left the Philippines in the last week of July.

“Sa kanila nanggaling yung counter affidavit, sila nag draft nito, tapos sila ang nag attach sa motion to admit… sila ang nag make of record dito sa DOJ,” Ty said.

(The counter affidavit came from them, they drafted it, and then they attached it to the motion to admit… and they made it part of the record here at the DOJ.)

“At pinakinabangan pa nila, diba? Dahil nga doon sa counter affidavit na ito, napatagal yung kaso,” he added.

(And they made use of it, right? Because of this counter affidavit, the case was delayed.)

Ty warned against such actions being repeated.

“Kasi baka maging hudyat pa yan sa mga ibang abugado na talagang ibale wala yung mga paglilitis namin dito. Kaya para sa amin, karapat-dapat lamang na sumagot yung mga abugado sa proper forum,” Ty said.

(Otherwise, that might serve as a signal to other lawyers to disregard our cases here. That's why, for us, it's only fitting that the lawyers respond in the proper forum.)

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