FILE PHOTO: Alice Guo. INQUIRER/MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
MANILA, Philippines — Alice Guo, the suspended mayor of Bamban town in Tarlac, may face human trafficking charges this week, an official of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said.
PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio explained that Guo may be liable for the crime because she had partial ownership of properties where alleged human trafficking activities took place.
“We are very confident that we will be able to file human trafficking charges against the embattled Mayor of Bamban. Now, we have also been viewing other possible charges in relation to money laundering as well as other charges that – either minor charges so to speak,” he said on ANC’s Headstart on Monday.
READ: PAOCC preparing nonbailable cases vs Guo, others
“For sure, by this week, we will be able to file human trafficking charges against Guo and her co-conspirators,” he added.
Casio cited a provision in the anti-human trafficking law that penalizes owners of buildings and properties that allow their estates to be used for human trafficking.
Guo earlier claimed she sold her share in Baofu Land, the property in Tarlac where government authorities raided an illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) identified as Zun Yuan Technology Inc. in March.
According to Casio, while Guo may say that she sold her Baofu Land share before running for mayor in 2022, she may still have culpability because it was she who signed off on lease contracts between Zun Yuan Technology Inc. and Baofu Land.