President, Congress, Ombudsman, et al. vs Alice Guo

August 19, 2024

MANILA – The two Senate committees ably chaired by Sen. Win Gatchalian and Sen. Risa Hontiveros and their counterpart House committees started ominously with their investigation of alleged criminal activities involving the Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos). Eventually, the focus riveted on the Pogos in Bamban, Tarlac that inevitably implicated young Bamban Mayor Alice Guo. Promptly, in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) last July 22, President Marcos, in an inspired off-script finale, announced the absolute ban of Pogos, to the applause of the assembled leaders and, later, the general public.

IN RAPID SUCCESSION, the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB), Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Commission on Elections (Comelec), Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Bureau of Immigration (BI), and Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) dug deep into her origin, citizenship, wealth, liabilities, and right to hold public office.

Both Houses of Congress directly or via their respective committees may conduct inquiries “in aid of legislation” and may require the presence and testimony of any person. However, they can merely recommend criminal prosecutions and/or the recoveries of civil liabilities to the authorized government agencies. Nonetheless, they have the power to hold uncooperative witnesses in contempt and detain them as they have cited Guo in contempt for her repeated failure to honor their subpoena. More vitally, they recommended to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the OMB the filing of criminal charges against the beleaguered town executive who, up to this writing, has eluded arrest and detention.

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