Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo in a Senate hearing in Pasay City on May 22, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATED) — The Office of the Ombudsman has found suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo guilty of grave misconduct and ordered her dismissal from service. 

"The Office finds Alice Leal Guo guilty of grave misconduct for which she is meted with dismissal from service with forfeiture of all her retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification to reenter government service," the Ombudsman said in its ruling obtained by ABS-CBN News.

 • Ombudsman junks Alice Guo's appeal vs preventive suspension

 Guo was accused of facilitating the operation of a massive illegal POGO hub in her municipality.

 In its 25-page ruling, the Ombudsman said Guo's acts way back when she was still a private citizen until she became Bamban mayor in 2022 "point to a willful intent on her part to violate the law or disregard established rules."  

The Ombudsman particularly cited Guo's acquisition of property that would become the site of POGO hub discovered by Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), which filed the cases against Guo. 

"The series of acts are interconnected leaving no other conclusion than that they were committed by Guo with ulterior motive of self interest," the Ombudsman said. 

 The Ombudsman also rejected Guo's defense that she had already divested from her company Baofu, which owned the land where the illegal POGO hub was located.

 "This is a clear conflict of interest. The element of corruption, willful intent to violate the law... are all quite evident. Guo must be held liable for the same," the Ombudsman said.

 Guo has repeatedly denied backing the illegal POGO hub. 

 She has also maintained that she is a Filipino despite the National Bureau of Investigation’s findings that her fingerprints matched that of Chinese national Guo Hua Ping. 

 Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who led a Senate hearing that linked Guo to POGOs, said the Ombudsman decision was “sound and sensible.” 

 “Alice Guo or Guo Hua Ping, a Chinese national, does not deserve to be a Philippine Mayor. She should have been stripped of that title immediately after we confirmed that she was not Filipino,” Hontiveros said in a statement. 

 “Wala siyang karapatang magsilbi sa sambayanang Pilipino. At dapat mapanagot na siya sa paglabag niya sa ating mga batas. I trust that our law enforcers are working double time to catch this fugitive. All these cases against Alice Guo are well and good pero habang hindi siya nahahanap, hindi magiging ganap ang ating paghahanap ng hustisya,” she added. 

 Guo has refused to appear in several Senate hearings. 

 Authorities have failed to serve a Senate arrest order against her.

QUO WARRANTO

Meanwhile, the Office of Solicitor General (OSG) said the quo warranto petition against Guo is still on despite the Ombudsman ordering her dismissal. 

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said the petition will still proceed because Guo “may still appeal the Ombudsman dismissal order.” 

Guevarra also noted that the quo warranto petition will prevent Guo from seeking another public office in the future. 

“The quo warranto petition, if successful, will make Guo Hua Ping (a.k.a. Alice Guo) ineligible to run for any elective public position in the future,” Guevarra said. —With reports from Adrian Ayalin, ABS-CBN News