September 20, 2024 | 1:30pm
MANILA, Philippines — Former Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo is slapped with another arrest warrant, this time for the qualified trafficking charges.
A Pasig court has ordered Guo’s transfer to a jail in Pasig City after issuing her the arrest warrant.
“Thus, the National Capital Region Custodial Facility, Camp Crame, Quezon City is directed to transfer the custody of accused Alice Leal Guo a.k.a. ‘Guo Hua Ping’ to the Pasig City Jail Female Dormitory, Bureau of Kail and Management Penology located at Nagpayong, Brgy. Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City,” the order wrote.
The case is non-bailable.
Other respondents in the case include: Huang Zhiyang, Rachelle Joan Malonzo Carreon, Zhang Ruijin, Baoying Lin, Yu Zheng, Can, Dennis Lacson Cunanan, Jamielyn Santos Cruz, Roderick Paul Bernardo Pujante, Juan Miguel Alpas, Merlie Joy Manalo Castro, Rita Sapnu Yturralde, Rowena Gonzales Evangelista, Thelma Barrogo Laranan, Maybelline Requiro Millo (also known as Shana Yiyi) and Walter Wong Long.
Long is a Malaysian national who was apprehended in a Philippine offshore and gaming operations (POGOs) hub raid in Bamban, Tarlac in March.
Other than Guo, he is the only one in custody of Philippine authorities. Everyone else remains at large.
The Pasig court has also ordered the transfer of Long from the Tarlac Provincial Jail in Tarlac City to the Pasig City Jail Male Dormitory.
Guo and Long are scheduled to have their arraignment and pre-trial conference on the morning of September 27, through video conferencing.
This adds to the long list of cases filed against Guo, which also includes money laundering and misrepresentation.
Due to the number of cases filed against her, the issue of where the former mayor should be detained has created a legal quandary.
While the Senate has issued an arrest warrant for her, Guo faced graft charges in a Tarlac court. However, the case was transferred to a Valenzuela court after concerns were raised that her former position as mayor in the Tarlac judicial district could influence the proceedings.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has argued that since there is evidence that Guo is a Chinese national, she should be detained by the Bureau of Immigration. — with reports from Ian Laqui
