Gov't vs Alice Guo: List of legal hurdles, cases against the Bamban mayor

MANILA, Philippines —  The most high-profile Senate drama in the past few months centered around the identity of a town mayor, Alice Guo, who was suspended on May 31 for her alleged links to the controversial Philippine offshore gaming operators in Bamban, Tarlac.

It all started in March when Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian called on the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to look into the Tarlac official for her potential connections to a recently raided POGO hub in Bamban. 

Gatchalian had learned that the Bamban mayor, Guo, applied for a license to operate for one of the POGOs, Hongsheng Gaming Technology Inc., which was raided in February 2023.

On April 8, 2024, authorities raided another POGO, Zun Yuan Technology Inc., which was located in the same compound as Hongsheng. 

It was then discovered that one of the vehicles found inside Zun Yuan was registered under Guo's name.

The suspended mayor, who is currently at large, has consistently denied having benefited or facilitated the POGOs in her town.

Here's a summary of the ongoing legal cases against the suspended embattled mayor, which will be updated as the cases develop.

What transpired: On June 26, Senator Risa Hontiveros revealed an NBI document showing another woman named "Alice Leal Guo" who shares the same name, spelling and birthday as the Bamban, Tarlac mayor. This raised questions about the mayor's true identity.

That same day, after Mayor Guo was a no-show at a Senate hearing she was invited to, Hontiveros issued a subpoena compelling Guo and her family members to appear. The NBI later confirmed that the fingerprints of Mayor Guo matched those of a Chinese woman named Guo Hua Ping, who is suspected to be her real identity.

On July 10, Guo's legal team petitioned the Supreme Court to annul the Senate subpoena issued on July 1. The 78-page petition alleged that the Senate committee violated Guo's constitutional rights. It argued that the Senate "whimsically and arbitrarily discriminates against the very institution and rights it is sworn to protect."

In addition to requesting the subpoena be nullified, Guo's lawyers asked the high court for a temporary restraining order or injunction to