By Benjamin Pulta | Philippine News Agency
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.
Defense counsel Stephen David maintained that Guo should not be charged with perjury or falsification because she was the one who signed the counter-affidavit filed in the separate charge for qualified trafficking against her and others.
“Siya naman pumirma doon. Pre-signed kasi ’yan. Wala akong nakikitang falsification doon kasi siya naman ang pumirma. Ngayon kung sino ang nagnotaryo , ’yon dapat ang tanungin natin,” he said.
Lawyer Elmer Galicia notarized the questioned counter-affidavit on Aug. 14 while Guo reportedly left the Philippines on July 18.
The dismissed mayor was eventually apprehended by Indonesian authorities early in September.
Authorities insist that Guo could not have personally appeared before the notarizing officer as she had already fled the country a month earlier.
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. (With report from Louisa Erispe/PTV News)