The Ombudsman served the order on Monday afternoon.
On Monday, June 3, the Office of the Ombudsman placed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and two other town officials under a six-month preventive suspension without pay.
This, as the Ombudsman initiates an investigation into the grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service case filed by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) last May 24.
The case, which the DILG says in violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, was in connection with Guo’s issuance of business permit to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) Hongsheng Gaming Technology, despite the lack of some necessary documents and an expired permit from PAGCOR.
Also included in the suspension order are business permit and licensing officer Edwin Ocampo and municipal legal officer Adenn Sigua.
In response to the order, Mayor Guo issued a statement on her Facebook page.
“Today [June 3], I received an order from the Ombudsman that seeks to suspend me for six months. I will comply with the due process and accept the decision of the Ombudsman while I continue to fight for my case.”
Guo also said that she will cooperate with authorities, but also denied the allegations anew.
Aside from the DILG’s case before the Ombudsman, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) is preparing to initiate a tax evasion case against the controversial town mayor.
Philippine Senators Risa Hontiveros, who is leading the Senate probe on the POGO hubs in Bamban, welcomed the development.
“Dapat lang. Nung unang bisita palang namin sa niraid na POGO sa Bamban, Tarlac, ipinanawagan ko na ang preventive suspension laban kay Mayor Alice Guo,” she wrote on Facebook.
“We also received information that she tried to obstruct the ongoing investigation immediately after the POGO was raided. This should have already warranted a suspension. We only hope this is not too late.”
Hontiveros adds: “Mayor Guo also undoubtedly has ties with POGO. Kahit ilang beses pa siyang magsinungaling, kahit ilang beses pa niyang hindi maalala, dokumentado ang koneksyon niya sa POGO.”
BAMBAN, BAOFU, POGO
In 2023, authorities first raided Hong Sheng and it was discovered to have held 500 Filipinos and 300 foreign nationals captive in an apparent human trafficking activity and operations of a cryptocurrency scam.
Meanwhile, in March 2024, a second company Zun Yuan Technology was busted by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crimes Commission (PAOCC), which also revealed their alarming human trafficking activities, on top of their scamming operations.
Both companies shared a common denominator, that was operating in the same site in Bamban, Tarlac that is owned by the company Baofu Land.
In an interview with ABS-CBN news anchor Karen Davila last May 20, Mayor Guo confirmed that she used to be an incorporator of Baofu Land, which owns the more than 7-hectare land located behind the Bamban Municipal Hall.
“Negosyo ko po farming, it so happened po na nabili ko ‘yung lupa [na] kung saan nakatayo ‘yung Baofu ngayon.”
Albeit, she said that she had divested her stake in Baofu prior to running as a candidate, and eventually, winning as the mayor of Bamban, Tarlac in the May 2022 elections.
The mayor, however, denied having direct links with the day-to-day operations the POGO companies themselves, but said that she only assisted the first company Hong Sheng in securing a letter of no objection (LONO) from the former Bamban administration.
While she also explained that she had allowed the entry of Zun Yuan even after the raid of Hong Sheng in 2023 to create jobs in her town, which is still classified as a second class municipality.
“Before po… noong humingi po ang Zun Yuan ng LONO (letter of no objections) doon sa mga konsehal ko po, ang paliwanag po nila sa akin ay: “Mayora, trabaho.””
Following the raids and the Senate investigation, Mayor Alice Guo said in the same interview with Karen Davila that she is now “against” POGOs in Bamban.
“As long as ako po ang Mayor, I will no longer allow any POGO operation in my town,” Guo said.