URGENT APPEAL
BAMBAN Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo has filed two urgent motions with the Office of the Ombudsman, requesting the revocation of the six-month preventive suspension imposed on her.
In her filed Urgent Motion for Reconsideration and Urgent Motion to Lift Preventive Suspension, Guo emphasized her innocence, asserting that the preventive suspension is unjust and stemmed solely from her performance of her duties as mayor.
“The suspension should be lifted on the grounds that grave errors of facts or law or serious irregularities have been committed. The complaint has no basis either in fact and in law, based on mere surmises, speculations, opinions, and questionable findings without the required quantum of evidence,” the motion stated.
Attorney Stephen David, one of Mayor Guo’s lawyers who filed the motion with the Ombudsman, claimed that there is no substantial evidence against his client and that a six-month suspension is excessively severe.
Their camp hopes that the Ombudsman will promptly resolve their motion, considering that Mayor Guo’s fulfillment of her duties as an elected official of the local government is at stake.
“Mayor Guo remains steadfast in her desire to achieve justice and receive fair treatment regarding the allegations against her,” explained Atty. David.
“We hope that the suspension order will be revoked not just for Mayor Guo but for the residents of Bamban,” he added.
It can be recalled that the suspension order stemmed from a complaint by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), accusing Mayor Guo of Grave Misconduct, Serious Dishonesty, Gross Neglect of Duty, and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service when she issued a business permit to a POGO operator.
Meanwhile, Atty. David pointed out that the Zun Yuan Corporation renewed its business permit only on January 17, 2024, after submitting the necessary requirements to the Business Process and Licensing Office (BPLO).
“Here, there is no proof that respondent Guo was motivated by a premeditated, obstinate, or deliberate intent of violating the law or any established rule,” David stated.
