Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
Updated on June 23, 2024 at 8:21 p.m.
MANILA, Philippines — The National People’s Coalition (NPC) has ordered the removal of suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, from the roster of its members amid allegations linking her with an illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) hub in her town.
In a letter dated June 22 but release to the media on Sunday, NPC chairman and former Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III made the order after receiving a petition from Tarlac Gov. Susan Yap last June 17.
READ: Mayor Alice Guo, others face human trafficking complaint
“The NPC will not tolerate any unlawful acts or any appearance of impropriety by its members that will undermine the principle of our party.” the letter from Sotto reads.
“In this regard, after due consultation with the leaders and members of our party and considering the gravity of charges and ongoing investigations against Mayor Guo, I hereby order the removal of Mayor Alice Guo from the roster of members of the Nationalist People’s Coalition,” he further said.
“In view thereof, I will be directing our Secretary General, Sec. Mark Landro Mendoza to implement the said order and immediately inform Mayor Guo of her removal from the party,” it added.
In her letter, Yap earlier said that it appears that Guo was unable to present any “compelling evidence which would disprove” the allegations against her.
“Her mere denial, without presentation of supporting evidence which should exculpate her name and put an end to the controversy, places her integrity at question at the moment,” the Tarlac governor’s request reads.
“As our Party stands to uphold honesty and integrity, and with Mayor Guo’s character and citizenship now being in question, with the sheer volume of evidence now being lodged against her, and absent any compelling evidence being presented in order to dispel these, I humbly pray that Mayor Guo be removed from the Party,” it further states.
In a separate statement, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian — a member of the NPC Advisory Council — supported the decision of the coalition to expel Guo, pointing out that it would be “very difficult for members of the party to govern with integrity and probity if we cannot discipline our own ranks.”
“Mayor Alice Guo’s deceit regarding her true identity, as well as her involvement with a Pogo operation that perpetrated various criminal activities, violates the core values of integrity, honesty and patriotism that the Nationalist People’s Coalition is deeply committed to upholding,” Gatchalian said.
“As a member of the NPC Advisory Council, I fully support her expulsion from the party,” he added.
Based on reports, the Office of the Ombudsman had ordered the suspension of Guo following complaints filed by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
This comes after DILG’s seven-man task force reported “troubling findings of serious illegal acts which may have severe legal implications,” related to Guo and her alleged connection to illegal Pogo activities in Bamban.
Aside from this, the Philippine National Police – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission also filed a qualified human trafficking case against Guo for her alleged connection to labor trafficking of around 500 foreign Pogo workers.
Moreover, the DILG also instructed the National Police Commission on May 20 to revoke the deputization of Guo within her area of jurisdiction for the same reason.