TARLAC, Philippines — Dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo did not post bail when she appeared before Capas, Tarlac Regional Trial Court Branch 109 that had ordered her arrest for graft charges.
Guo was supposed to post bail of P180,000 — P90,000 for each count of the two counts of graft — to be granted temporary liberty.
Asked why Guo opted not to post bail, her lawyer, Nicola Jamila said: “Sa ngayon po kasi, we see no reason for that. Kahit magbail siya, hindi pa rin makukuha ang purpose, considering na meron siyang other warrant of arrest.”
(As of now, we see no reason for that. Even if she posts bail, she will not achieve the purpose, considering that she has another warrant of arrest.)
This means Guo will remain under Philippine National Police (PNP) custody, and will not be brought immediately to the Senate, which has a standing arrest warrant against her, and where she was supposed to appear before the panel investigating Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) on Monday, September 9.
When asked, Jamila said that Guo felt safe in PNP custody.
On whether Guo will attend the Senate hearing on Monday, Jamila said that this will be up to the Tarlac court, since it now has juridiction over Guo.
“The court has jurisdiction over her, whatever the decision or the order of the judge, we will commit to that,” she said.
After her deportation and arrival from Indonesia on Friday morning, September 5, Guo was detained at the PNP Custodial Center. From the facility, she was escorted by police personnel to Tarlac.
PNP spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo told reporters that the court required Guo’s personal appearance to ensure that she was indeed arrested through the issued warrant.
As Guo was headed to Tarlac on Friday, Hontiveros had anticipated that Guo might opt not to post bail so she could skip the Senate hearings.
“Ngayon kung si Guo Hua Ping ay ‘di magpiyansa, ibig sabihin mas gusto pa niya makulong sa PNP kaysa sa Senate. (If Guo Hua Ping does not post bail, it means she would rather get detained at the PNP instead of the Senate.) We need to ask why. Why does she want to be in a jail more than in the Senate detention facility?” Hontiveros said ahead of Guo’s courtroom appearance.
The senator had said that while she respects the right of the judiciary to issue an arrest warrant against Guo, the Senate already has a standing arrest warrant against Guo.
She noted that the Senate, thought its arrest order in July, had triggered the manhunt for Guo and it was the Senate warrant that Philippine law enforcers brought with them to Indonesia to take her in.
“Malinaw din sa Korte Suprema in the case of Binay vs Sandiganbayan that criminal cases against municipal mayors fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan. Bakit po kaya Tarlac court ang nag-issue?” Hontiveros asked.
(It’s clear with the Supreme Court in the case of Binay vs. Sandiganbayan that cases against municipal mayors fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan. I wonder why the Tarlac court was the one that issued [the arrest warrant]). – Rappler.com