Dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo (legal name: Guo Hua Ping) should not be held responsible for issues regarding the notarization of her counter-affidavit in a human trafficking case, as she was reportedly outside the Philippines when the document was notarized, her legal team argued on Tuesday.
Attorney Stephen David, Guo’s counsel, made this statement after filing a counter-affidavit requesting the dismissal of perjury and falsification charges against her during a preliminary hearing at the Department of Justice in Manila.
“Our defense is that she shouldn’t be charged with falsification or perjury,” David told reporters in Filipino.
He emphasized that since Guo was not present in the country, she could not have participated in the notarization process.
When questioned about her assistants’ claim that Guo instructed them to have the document notarized, David argued that simply giving such an instruction does not imply that Guo personally committed any falsification.
“Falsification would require that she herself altered or falsified the notarization,” he explained.
David further asserted that the document, which the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) suggested might have been signed by someone else, was actually “pre-signed” by Guo before she left for Jakarta, Indonesia.
He added that the counter-affidavit should not have been notarized in her absence, as notarization requires the signatory’s presence before the lawyer or notary public.
“I don’t see any falsification here, as she signed it herself. The issue lies with the notary who proceeded with the notarization,” he added.
When asked if Guo could be held liable for the notarization issue, David replied, “No.”
He also declined further comment due to the case’s sub judice status but noted that Guo, as the affiant, was not present, making it impossible to claim she appeared before the notary.
The allegations arose from Guo’s counter-affidavit, which was submitted shortly after a qualified trafficking complaint was filed against her on August 6.
Her counter-affidavit was signed by lawyer Elmer Galicia on August 14, nearly a month after Guo had departed the Philippines in July.
Following this, the NBI filed perjury, falsification, and obstruction of justice complaints against Guo, Galicia, and four other individuals.
