MANILA: Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo on Tuesday asked prosecutors to dismiss the perjury and falsification charges filed against her in connection with a notarized document she supposedly signed while she was already out of the country. Guo was transferred in an ambulance from the Pasig City Jail to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for a hearing before a panel of government prosecutors.

According to Philippines News Agency, defense counsel Stephen David argued that Guo should not be charged with perjury or falsification because she had indeed signed the counter-affidavit that was filed in a separate charge for qualified trafficking against her and others. He stated, “Siya naman pumirma doon. Pre-signed kasi ‘yan. Wala akong nakikitang falsification doon kasi siya naman ang pumirma. Ngayon kung sino ang nagnotaryo, ‘yun dapat ang tanungin natin (She was the one who signed it. That was pre-signed. I don’t see any falsification there because she was the one who signed. Now, as to the one who notarize
d it, we should ask him).”

The questioned counter-affidavit was notarized by Lawyer Elmer Galicia on August 14, while Guo reportedly left the Philippines on July 18. Authorities maintain that Guo could not have personally appeared before the notarizing officer as she had already fled the country a month earlier. The dismissed mayor was eventually apprehended by Indonesian authorities early in September.

The National Bureau of Investigation had filed several complaints against Guo, Galicia, and four others before the Department of Justice regarding the allegedly spurious counter-affidavit.