Legal battles faced by personalities in 2024

They were among the personalities who hit the headlines in 2024, but the controversies also brought about legal problems.

As the year winds down, GMA News Online listed some of these pending cases.

Sara Duterte

Two disbarment cases were filed against Vice President Sara Duterte before the Supreme Court (SC) in 2024.

The first, an anonymous complaint filed in November, sought her disbarment following her remarks on the exhumation of the remains of the late former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. 

Duterte earlier said that she told Senator Imee Marcos that she would dig up the body of Marcos Sr. and throw it into the West Philippine Sea if the attacks against her would not stop. 

Presidential Adviser for Poverty Alleviation Secretary Larry Gadon filed the second disbarment complaint against the vice president in the same month.

Gadon, a disbarred lawyer himself, filed this after Duterte held a Zoom briefing where she bared that she hired someone to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez, if she dies.

Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo said they had yet to receive a response from the justice in charge of the complaints regarding his recommendation. He said once the recommendation is received, they will know what steps to take on the cases.

Duterte previously said her remarks against the First Couple and Romualdez were “maliciously taken out of logical context.” 

The vice president is also facing a disbarment case in relation to an incident in 2011 when she punched a court sheriff during a demolition of informal settler's shanties when she was Davao City mayor.

Aside from disbarment cases, Duterte also represents the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in a petition seeking the return of the OVP's P125 million confidential funds to the government treasury.

The petition also asked the high court to declare the release of confidential funds “unconstitutional.”

It was the Commission on Audit that initially disclosed that the OVP spent P125 million in 11 days in December 2022. Duterte, however, had maintained that there was "nothing irregular or unauthorized about its spending."

The vice president is also facing complaints for direct assault, disobedience, and grave coercion before the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office. It was filed by the Philippine National Police in November.

This stemmed from the disruption at the House of Representatives Detention Center and Veterans Memorial Medical Center involving the detention of Duterte’s chief of staff Atty. Zuleika Lopez, who was cited in contempt by the House amid its investigation into the OVP's use of its budget.

Alice Guo

Dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo, who is alleged to be Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, is the accused in five cases before various courts due to her alleged involvement in the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) firm that was raided in her locality in March.

Graft — One of her cases is for the violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, which is undergoing trial before the Valenzuela Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 285. 

The case stemmed from Guo’s issuance of a permit to POGO firm Zun Yuan Technology, previously called Hongsheng, despite the company failing to complete the requirements and having an expired license from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.

Guo has pleaded not guilty in this case.

Birth certificate petition — A petition to cancel Guo’s birth certificate was also filed by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) against her before the Tarlac RTC Branch 111.

The petition came after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) confirmed that Alice Guo and Guo Hua Ping have the same fingerprints. 

According to Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, the next hearing is set for January.

Quo warranto petition — Guo is also facing a quo warranto petition which may result in her removal from public office before the Manila RTC Branch 34. 

The OSG asked the court to declare Guo’s proclamation as Bamban mayor null and void and for her to be ousted. It also asked the court to declare Guo ineligible to hold the office of the mayor of Bamban.

Similarly, Guevarra said the next hearing was scheduled for January. 

Qualified trafficking — The former mayor is also facing charges of qualified trafficking before the Pasig RTC Branch 167 over the raided Zun Yuan Technology, where over 800 Filipinos and foreigners were rescued.

In September, Guo pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

Meanwhile, the court recently denied her petition for bail, saying that “the evidence presented by the prosecution against them during the bail hearing is strong.”

Material misrepresentation — Her last case is for material misrepresentation, filed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) with the Capas RTC Branch 66.

The poll body accused Guo of violating Section 74 of the Omnibus Election Code when she filed her certificate of candidacy for mayor in the 2022 polls despite supposedly being a Chinese citizen.

Guo was recently arraigned before the court, where she pleaded not guilty.

Her lawyer, Nicole Jamilla, has said that Guo’s next hearing will be in February.

Aside from cases, Guo is facing complaints for 87 counts of money laundering; tax evasion; perjury; falsification by a notary public, and use of falsified documents; and falsification and violations of the Anti-Dummy law before the Department of Justice.

These are not yet filed before the courts and are awaiting resolution.

Guo is currently detained at the Pasig City Jail Female Dormitory.

Apollo Quiboloy

Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) leader Apollo Quiboloy is facing a qualified trafficking case before the Pasig RTC Branch 159 as well as a child abuse case before the Quezon City RTC 106.

The camp of complainant “Amanda” said the next hearing on the cases is in January.

Quiboloy is currently detained at the Pasig City Jail Male Dormitory. His lawyer recently said it was considering taking back its appeal against his transfer to the Pasig City Jail. 

Arnie Teves

Former Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. is facing charges of murder, frustrated murder, and attempted murder for the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and others in March 2023.

He was also charged with murder over killings in Negros Oriental in 2019.

Though the trial is ongoing for the other accused in both cases, Teves has yet to be arraigned before the trial courts as he is still in Timor-Leste. 

The Timor-Leste Court of Appeal recently granted the government’s request to extradite him back to the country. His lawyer in the Philippines said their counterparts in Timor-Leste are likely to appeal this decision.

Teves has denied the allegations against him. 

Disposition rate

Data from the SC showed that the lower courts disposed of 508,197 cases this year. The SC said this is equivalent to a disposition rate of 43%.

Meanwhile, the high court closed 4,294 cases for a rate of 22% as of September 2024.

As of November 30, the SC said the Court of Appeals disposed of 14,699 cases for a disposition rate of 35%; the Sandiganbayan, 994 cases or 44%; and the Court of Tax Appeals, 648 cases or 29%.—LDF/VBL/RSJ, GMA Integrated News