Guo, 35 Bamban officials face new Ombudsman complaints

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Thursday announced that it is filing new criminal and administrative complaints against former Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo and 35 other local officials in connection with the alleged illegal land conversion of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) property.

NBI Director Jaime Santiago said the complaints will be lodged before the Office of the Ombudsman against Guo, her former vice mayor and councilors, as well as officials who served before her term.

“36 individuals, Alice Guo and her councillor, vice mayor during her time. Also against the former mayor prior to Alice Guo including the vice mayor, councillors down,” Santiago told reporters.

The charges include violations of Section 3(g) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and Article 216 of the Revised Penal Code, which penalizes public officers with prohibited interests.

They also face administrative charges for gross misconduct, serious dishonesty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

Unpaid taxes

Santiago also revealed that the transactions involved were highly disadvantageous to the government.

“The appraised value is P3.9 billion but they only paid real property tax amounting to P10,000. Sa lupa, sa building zero, hindi nagbayad. So masyadong grossly disadvantageous to the government,” he said.

(The appraised value is ?3.9 billion but they only paid real property tax amounting to ?10,000. For the land, for the building, they did not pay. So it was grossly disadvantageous to the government.)

“Ito pa rin ang investigation namin. Marami pang karugtong ito at task force Guo, hindi sila humihinto sa pagkakalap ng ebidensya.”

(This is still part of our investigation. There are more to come, and Task Force Guo has not stopped in gathering evidence.)

The NBI director noted that while the bureau leads the probe, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) also provided documents gathered during joint raids.

Santiago confirmed that, in addition to three criminal and three administrative complaints already prepared, more cases will be filed against the former mayor. 

“Continuously. Remember pa unti-unti file kami ng file. Continuously,” he said.

(Continuously. Remember, we will be filing cases one after another. Continuously.) —VAL, GMA Integrated News