Guo personally had her affidavit notarized on Aug. 14, says lawyer

Alice Guo —PHOTO FROM GUO’S FACEBOOK PAGE

MANILA, Philippines — The lawyer who notarized dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo’s counter-affidavit and submitted it last week at the Department of Justice (DOJ), maintained that the former mayor personally appeared before him on the night of the notarization last August 14, a provincial prosecutor said on Tuesday.

This is contrary to the Bureau of Immigration’s statement Monday evening that Guo “illegally traveled to Malaysia as early as July.”

READ: Guo wants DOJ to junk human trafficking rap vs her

Elmer Galicia, the lawyer who notarized Guo’s counter-affidavit seeking the dismissal of her human trafficking complaint, went to the DOJ on Tuesday alongside Bulacan Provincial Prosecutor Sonny Ocampo and Caloocan City Prosecutor Darwin Cañete.

Galicia did not grant media interviews, but Ocampo spoke on his behalf.

“Atty. Elmer Galicia was a former city legal officer of San Jose del Monte City which is also part of the province of Bulacan, kaya nung makita namin kahapon, nalaman namin na there was a news na nagexecute ng counter affidavit si Mayor Alice Guo, sa kanya nagpanotarize, as part of the task force, we tried to get in touch with him para malaman namin kung ano yung veracity o totoong nag appear sa kanya,” Ocampo told reporters in an ambush interview.

(Atty. Elmer Galicia was a former city legal officer of San Jose del Monte City, which is also part of the province of Bulacan. So when we saw him yesterday, we learned that there was news that Mayor Alice Guo had executed a counter-affidavit and had it notarized by him. As part of the task force, we tried to get in touch with him to determine the veracity of whether she actually appeared before him.)

According to Ocampo, when Galicia arrived at his office in Bulacan around 7 p.m. on August 14, a vehicle carrying Guo was already there.

“It appears that on August 14, 2024 at around 7 o’clock p.m.  noong dumating siya sa opisina, nandoon na ‘yung isang Land Cruiser onboard is Ms. Alice Guo,” Ocampo said, referring to Galicia.

(It appears that on August 14, 2024, at around 7 o’clock p.m., when he arrived at the office, a Land Cruiser was already there with Ms. Alice Guo onboard.)

READ: Alice Guo has left the Philippines – Hontiveros

Ocampo said another person informed Galicia that Guo will be at his office for notarization.

“Nagkusap sila ni Alice Guo doon sa baba ng kanyang opisina nakita niya at nagbigay…nagprisinta ng driver’s license si Alice Guo sa kanya and then he notarized the country-affidavit that was due to be submitted to the DOJ for preliminary investigation,” he added.

(Atty. Galicia spoke with Alice Guo downstairs at his office. He saw her, and she presented her driver’s license to him. He then notarized the counter-affidavit that was to be submitted to the DOJ for the preliminary investigation.)

Ocampo said Galicia did not mention whether he entered the vehicle carrying Guo or not.

“Hindi niya nasabi, pero nakita niya sa bintana,” Ocampo said.

(He didn’t mention it, but he saw it through the window.)

Ocampo also has no idea where the sealing of the document occurred.

“That I do not know. Wala pa siyang sinasabi, wala siyang naikwento nun basta ang tinanong namin kung talagang nakita niya and ‘yun ang version niya,” Ocampo said.

(That I do not know. He hasn’t said anything yet, and he didn’t share any details at that time. We just asked if he actually saw it, and that’s his version.)

READ: BI: Alice Guo flew out of PH illegally based on intel

In a statement on Monday evening, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said they received intelligence information from their counterparts abroad that Guo illegally left for Malaysia and then flew to Singapore.

The official said the intelligence information that Guo left for Malaysia and Singapore “came from very reliable sources.”

He added that the former mayor purportedly flew to Singapore with Shiela Leal Guo and Wesley Leal Guo last July 21.