By admin 
The money laundering complaint filed against former Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and others has been submitted for resolution, a Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutor said on Friday.
“This is the last session of the preliminary investigation into the money laundering cases. So everything is being submitted for resolution,” Assistant State Attorney Charlie Guhit said in an ambush interview.
After this, the panel of prosecutors will issue a resolution dismissing the complaint or recommending that charges be filed against the suspects in a court.
In August, authorities submitted 87 cases of money laundering against Guo and 35 others for raiding Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hubs in Bamban and Porac, Pampanga.
Other respondents in the complaint include Shiela Guo, the former mayor’s alleged sister; Cassandra Li Ong, the Authorized Representative of Porac POGO Hub; and former Deputy Director General of the Technology and Livelihood Resource Center Dennis Cunanan, among others.
Alice Guo, Shiela Guo and Ong were able to file their counter-affidavits.
Meanwhile, Guhit said Cunanan and other respondents did not appear.
“As a result, the matter will be referred for adjudication without their counter-affidavits. We will resolve the case against them based on the complaint and supporting evidence in support of the complaint,” Guhit said.
For their part, Ong’s camp requested dismissal of the complaint in their counter-affidavit. They also denied the allegations against her.
“It is mainly denials of the allegations against our client, Ms Ong, and pointing out flaws in the original complaint,” lawyer Raphael Andrada, Ong’s legal counsel, said in an ambush interview.
He said the standard of proof has been raised from probable cause to prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction.
“Given the higher standard required to uphold the charges at the preliminary investigation. Even more so, they should dismiss the case against our client,” Andrada said.
“Without undermining the good discretion of the honorable panel of prosecutors, we believe that not all elements of the crime with which she is accused have been met,” he later added.
Guo, who is also believed to be Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, is also facing a qualified human trafficking case in a Pasig court, as well as a graft case in a Valenzuela court.
She pleaded before not guilty to graft loads.
A quo warranto petition against Guo was also filed in a Manila court, as well as a petition to revoke her birth certificate in a Tarlac court.
She also faces a tax evasion complaint with the Justice Department.
—VAL, GMA integrated news