MANILA – The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) recommended to the Office of the Ombudsman to place controversial Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo on preventive suspension.
According to DILG secretary Benhur Abalos, the taskforce created to investigate Guo has some “troubling findings of serious illegal acts which may have severe legal implications.”
The DILG created a taskforce, headed by Atty. Benjamin Zabala of the Department’s Internal Audit Service, on April 5 to look into Guo’s alleged link to illegal activities of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in her town.
“The DILG recommended to the Ombudsman the issuance of a preventive suspension against Mayor Guo, to prevent any influence on the continuing investigations of our and other agencies,” Abalos said.
“The DILG will continue to cooperate with the Ombudsman and other investigative bodies on this important issue, united in our shared mission of protecting our local institutions and furthering public interest,” he added.
Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said there are no “definitive conclusions” yet as to the executive branch’s probe on Guo as he defended his viral selfie with the Bamban mayor.
“That proves nothing. You know how many pictures I take during a campaign? Siguro isang libo sa isang araw,” Marcos said in an interview in Makati on Saturday night.
“Lahat naman ng humihingi ng selfie hindi ko naman hinihindian so it doesn’t really mean anything,” the Chief Executive added.
The identity of Guo was put in question as she claimed in a Senate hearing that she has forgotten or has no knowledge of her personal details like her place of birth and name of school attended.
Guo only has a certificate of live birth, wherein it was declared that her father is a Filipino, but her father’s business records showed that he declared he is a Chinese national.
Additionally, Guo only registered as a voter in 2021 and won the mayoral election in Bamban in 2022 despite having no background in politics./PN
