Alice Guo posts bail for graft charges, but will remain detained

Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo on Friday posted bail for graft charges but will remain detained due to another case and contempt orders from the Senate and House of Representatives.

Through her lawyers, Guo, who is currently detained at the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame, posted bail of P540,000 at the Valenzuela City Regional Trial Court Branch 282 for charges involving violations of Section 3(e) and 3(h) of Republic Act 3019.

Her graft charges stemmed from the complaint filed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government over her alleged involvement in the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in Bamban.

Guo's arraignment was supposed to be held on Friday, but it was postponed after her camp filed a motion to quash information before the Capas, Tarlac RTC.  Both camps have until Wednesday, September 25, to file a comment on the motion, according to a "24 Oras" report by Ian Cruz.

Guo's bail was tripled on the suggestion of the prosecution, which was approved by the Valenzuela court.  Her trip outside the country manifested her capacity to pay the amount of bail, the report said.

Guo listened to the more than one hour proceeding as the police provided her security.

"Tanggap na nya and situation, nag-sink na sa kanya and mga pangyayari. (She has accepted the situation). As I have said, you just have to leave it to the Lord because he has a better purpose for all that is happening right now," Guo's lawyer, Stephen David said.

After posting bail, Guo was arrested anew for the charges she was facing before the Pasig RTC.

From the Valenzuela RTC, she was brought to Camp Crame for a medical examination.

Meanwhile, the Pasig RTC Branch 167 has ordered the transfer of Guo from the PNP Custodial Center to the Pasig City Jail Female Dormitory in connection with her qualified trafficking case, a non-bailable case.

In Sandra Aguinaldo’s report in “24 Oras,” Guo was undergoing a medical check-up in Crame before her expected transfer on Friday night.

The dismissed mayor will have a space on the female dormitory’s fourth floor alongside over 40 other inmates. However, the said area was supposed to only handle nine inmates.

Also detained in the female dormitory are the three other co-accused of Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) founder Apollo Quiboloy.

However, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) assured that Guo would not be given any special treatment while in detention.

The former mayor also faces a non-bailable case of qualified human trafficking before a Pasig court, which ordered her transfer to the city jail.

Aside from this, she was charged with 87 counts of money laundering before the Department of Justice.

A quo warranto petition has also been filed against Guo, who is also identified as Guo Hua Ping, with a Manila court, as well as a petition to cancel her birth certificate before a Tarlac court. She has denied the accusations against her. —With a report from Vince Ferreras/VBL/ VDV, GMA Integrated News