Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said yesterday the graft case filed against dismissed Mayor Alice Guo before the Tarlac Regional Trial Court (RTC) should have been lodged with the Sandiganbayan.

An arrest warrant was issued by the Tarlac RTC in Capas against Guo based on the case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB), which stemmed from a complaint of the Department of the Interior and Local Government against her.

Remulla said the OMB prosecutors may have made a mistake in filing the graft case before the Tarlac court because dismissed Mayor Guo holds a Salary Grade 30.

Under the law, local courts have jurisdiction over graft cases involving government personnel with Salary Grade 26 and below, while the Sandiganbayan has jurisdiction over cases involving public officials and employees with Salary Grade 27 and above.

Remulla said the Department of Justice will write the Ombudsman to seek clarification of the matter that may have been an oversight.

Guo, who was arrested last week in Indonesia, was cited in contempt yesterday by the Senate panel investigating criminal activities of the banned Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators.

She has been accused of being a Chinese spy who used fake Philippine documents like a birth certificate and passport to pass herself off as a Filipino and get herself elected mayor of Bamban, Tarlac.