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The judge in Pasig also orders Guo’s transfer to the Pasig City Jail Female Dormitory
MANILA, Philippines – The Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) has ordered the issuance of warrants of arrest against dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo and other business partners over non-bailable charges of qualified trafficking.
“After examining the five (5) Informations, the resolution, and all the documents presented during the Preliminary Investigation, the Court finds probable cause to hold accused Alice Leal Guo….for trial for the crime/s charged against them,” said Pasig City RTC Branch 167 Judge Annielyn Medes-Cabelis in an order dated September 19, obtained by Rappler on Friday, September 20.
The judge ordered that the “corresponding warrant of arrest be issued” against Guo and 15 others, including the former mayor’s Chinese business partners, one of whom is Huang Zhiyang, the alleged big boss of POGOs (Philippine offshore gaming operations).
BREAKING: Pasig Judge orders the issuance of an arrest warrant for Alice Guo et al for the non-bailable charge of trafficking @rapplerdotcom pic.twitter.com/PzxFchrRZz
— Lian Buan (@lianbuan) September 20, 2024
Included in the order is Dennis Cunanan, the former chief of the state agency Technology and Livelihood Resource Center, who acted as a consultant for both the POGO in Bamban, Tarlac, and the POGO in Porac, Pampanga — both of which were raided after complaints of trafficking and torture.
But this case is mostly a Bamban case as it does not include the trafficking complaint against Porac’s Cassandra Ong, which is still pending before the Department of Justice (DOJ). Guo was charged with trafficking for incorporating the Baofu real estate firm that leased its land to the Hongsheng POGO, later renamed Zun Yuan. Guo was accused of having a material role in making sure that Hongsheng and Zun Yuan got to operate in her compound. Although she claimed she had divested from Baofu, investigators secured a court certification that the divestment documents were fraudulent.
The judge also ordered that Guo be transferred to the Pasig City Jail Female Dormitory. Guo is currently detained at the Philippine National Police custodial center in Camp Crame, which she preferred because she said she “feels safe” there. Guo opted not to post bail for her graft charge pending before the Valenzuela RTC (transferred from Capas, Tarlac), which lawmakers interpreted as her avoiding going into the custody of either the Senate or the House of Representatives. The lower house on Thursday, September 19, wanted to take over custody.
“All the accused in these cases are not entitled to post bail as the charges against them are all non-bailable,” said the judge’s order.
Guo’s lawyer Stephen David told Rappler they will file a petition for bail.
A petition for bail is a resort for defendants in non-bailable charges. Previous famous examples of defendants who won their petitions for bail were Senator Jinggoy Estrada and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile in their plunder charges over the pork barrel scam.
The complaint against Guo for money laundering, which includes Ong, is pending at the DOJ.
– Rappler.com
