Guo cries political harassment

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of dismissed mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac is asking the Department of Justice (DOJ) to junk the human trafficking complaint lodged against her, saying it was a “politically motivated smear campaign” aimed to tarnish her reputation.

The former mayor likewise claimed that the basis for her implication in human trafficking were “mere electric bills and documents” of Baofu Land Development Inc., which leased its property to an offshore gaming hub.

Guo asked the DOJ investigating panel yesterday to reopen the case and admit her attached sworn statement.

In a counter-affidavit submitted through her lawyers to the DOJ, Guo said an electric bill is simply a record of electricity usage and “does not state with certainty who is actually present at the property or if there are illegal activities taking place.”

“I have yet to see a case where a mere electric bill could be validly used to support a claim that a person is involved in human trafficking,” the counter-affidavit read.

The electricity bills of a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) that authorities raided for alleged human trafficking were allegedly under Guo’s name.

She also argued that being a former stockholder of Baofu, a real estate firm that leased its land to the POGO raided in Bamban, does not translate to culpability in the corporation’s actions.

Zun Yuan Technology, the POGO entity raided in March, is located inside the Baofu compound behind the Bamban Municipal Hall.

She said she was not in a position to influence the operations of Baofu, including alleged illegal activities that might have been conducted by the company.

“My lawyers informed me that merely being an incorporator does not in itself imply malice,” Guo said.

She also said that her alleged participation in being mayor of Bamban did not amount to human trafficking, saying she only performed one of her duties and functions of issuing licenses and business permits.

She said Zun Yuan applied for a business permit with complete requirements, therefore she had no grounds to deny their application.

“To say that I issued the business permit in favor of Zun Yuan to aid them in committing the alleged human