The Department of Justice (DoJ) is set to file a money laundering complaint against dismissed Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac, and her sister Shiela. The mayor has fled to Indonesia.
This was disclosed by DoJ Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty, who said, “Maybe tomorrow or next week the money laundering case against Alice, Shiela, and several others will be filed.”
Cases have been filed by the DoJ before the Pasay City courts against Shiela for disobedience to summons issued by the Senate in violation of Article 150 of the Revised Penal Code and for using a fake Philippine passport in violation of Section 22, paragraph (b)(2) of Republic Act 11983, the Philippine Passport Act.
Alice has been charged before the DoJ with a qualified trafficking in persons complaint filed by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) in connection with the reported criminal activities of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in Bamban.
Also, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has filed a case before the DoJ against Alice for alleged violation of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), particularly her reported attempt to evade or defeat the payment of taxes under Section 255 and her failure to file capital gains taxes and documentary stamp taxes under Section 250.
Despite Shiela’s testimony at the Senate last Tuesday, Ty said it was too early for the DoJ to consider turning her into a state witness.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla said during the Senate budget hearing on Wednesday, “I do not believe what Shiela narrated.”
On the other hand, Ty said the DoJ is eyeing the filing of an administrative case before the Supreme Court or the Integrated Bar of the Philippines against the lawyers of Alice.
Even as Shiela testified before the Senate that she and her sister had left the Philippines by boat last July, her lawyers on 16 August filed a motion in the DoJ seeking to reopen the preliminary investigation into the qualified trafficking in persons case against Alice.
The motion included Alice’s counter-affidavit in response to the allegations. The counter-affidavit indicated that she had personally appeared and swore before a notary public, lawyer Elmer Galicia, to the authenticity of her statements.
As for Galicia, Ty said, “he may face a criminal case for falsification and an administrative case before the SC because we have obligations as lawyers.”