'Tax evasion, violation of Securities Regulation Code' charges may be filed vs suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Guo
The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) is eyeing the filing of criminal charges for tax evasion and violation of the Securities Regulation Code against Mayor Alice Leal Guo of Bamban, Tarlac.
“Some of the cases will be filed against the local chief executives of Bamban and the other municipal officials of Bamban,” PAOCC Spokesperson Winston Romeo Casio told reporters at the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday, June 3.
“As far as we are concerned po may mga nakita kaming mga violations niya with regards to administrative (we have found administrative violations),” he added.
On tax evasion charges, Casio said: “Sa aming tingin po medyo malaki-laki po ang hindi n’ya nababayaran (We believe that she has huge sums of unpaid taxes)."
“I could not quantify pero malaki. Kita mo naman ang lifestyle ni mayora (I could not quantify how much unpaid taxes but it’s huge. You can see that from the lifestyle of the mayor,” Casio said as he pointed out Guo's lavish lifestyle.
Casio explained the alleged violation of the Securities Regulation Code concerns Guo’s alleged connections with the illegally operating Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) Hongsheng Gaming Technology, Inc. that was raided by authorities in Bamban last year and the Baofu Land Development, Inc.
At the same time, Casio said the PAOCC welcomed the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) to place Guo under preventive suspension for six months based on the complaint by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Casio said “‘yung preventive suspension ‘yan po ay makakatulong para mapasok namin ‘yung munisipyo at makahingi kami ng ibang mga records na nandoon sa kanya (the preventive suspension will allow us to enter the municipal hall and get records).”