Amid Alice Guo’s mounting controversy, Bamban residents unsure who to trust anymore

29.07.2024 14:47

Rappler.com

TARLAC, Philippines – Residents of Bamban, Tarlac, have mixed sentiments about the mounting controversy about their mayor, Alice Guo, has found herself in, and they say they are in a state of just wanting to pick up the pieces for their town but not knowing exactly how.

Guo, a first-term mayor, was ordered arrested by the Senate last July 13 for failing to attend the past hearings, where her connection to illegal offshore gaming operations, run by convicted Chinese criminals and used for trafficking, scams, and money laundering was uncovered.

On Monday, July 29, she was a no-show at the Senate again. On the same day, the Office of the Solicitor General asked a Manila court to unseat her as mayor for not being a Filipino citizen.

To be sure, most of the residents that Rappler got to talk to in a recent visit to Bamban had good words for their suspended mayor Guo as a responsive, proactive leader. They fear that with her vice mayor, Leonardo Anunciacion — a former mayor — now acting as local chief executive, the progress will be set back once more.

But then, they said, can they trust Guo again? And all their politicians for that matter?

Tricycle driver Ver said they had lost interest in their public officials, noting that the return of Anunciacion may also bring Bamban back to the old times of slow progress and development.

“Mas metahimik na ngeni. Nung dati tahimik keni, mas lalu pa ngeni. Balamu migising kami pero milako la gana reng tau. Ing mayor mi ngeni, mayor mi ne kanita anya balamu magbalik na ke na naman king dati kanini,” Ver told Rappler in Kapampangan language on Thursday. “Masanting la mu papakit keng mumuna. Makalako la mu rin gana.”

(It’s more quiet now. If it was quiet before, it’s much more now. It’s like people here woke up but without enthusiasm. Our mayor now had been our mayor before already. It’s like we have gotten back to how we were before. They only show good things at the start. We’ve lost that enthusiasm.)

Santo Niño Academy high school students Bea and Citi talk about the controversy surrounding embattled mayor Alice Guo during a break with their friends at a nearby store. Photo by Joann Manabat

High school students from Santo Niño Academy, Bea and Citi, shared Ver’s observations, and acknowledged Guo’s past contributions in addressing community needs.

“She used to always have things to do in Bamban, but now that she has been suspended, it has become a bit boring. When we had ¥power interruption, she was able to solve such problems immediately. But since she was suspended, it seems the focus has been taken away from such things. Brownouts have been frequent with just a little rain. Even wifi is affected,” the school girls said in Filipino.

“Since Guo was elected, my family and I have always looked at her posts and updates on social media. Now it seems that our family has lost trust in her and her party,” Bea said.

“It’s like we can’t trust her anymore because so much has been revealed about her. We don’t know if her intentions for Bamban are good or not,” Citi added.

Acting Vice Mayor Erdy Timbang assumed office last June 4. Photo by Joann Manabat

Acting Vice Mayor Erdy Timbang called the situation a “wake-up call” for public officials and residents alike to rebuild their town after all that happened.

Timbang was the only councilor who did not sign the Letter of No Objection (LONO0 that the local government issued and which Zun Yuan Technology Incorporated used to get a permit from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation previously before it went illegal.

The Baofu compound, where Zun Yuan was raided by law enforcers, belonged to Guo before she became mayor. She claims to have sold it. It is located right behind the municipal hall of Bamban. Before she ran for mayor in 2022, Guo was the one who lobbied with the local council to issue a LONO.

“People are now reluctant to discuss it, perhaps out of dismay, like something hidden has been suddenly exposed,” Timbang told Rappler.

Timbang said the priority projects now include attracting business and investments to generate jobs and revenue, like the poultry dressing plant. Students will continue to receive school supplies at the start of classes, he added.

“This transition period has been challenging, but we are focused on stabilizing the administration,” he said.

Timbang took on the role of acting vice mayor with Leonardo Anunciacion as the acting mayor on June 4.

Guo, business permit licensing officer Edwin Ocampo, and legal officer Adden Sigua have been placed under a six-month preventive suspension since May 31 by the Office of the Ombudsman for grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service. Guo’s former accountant, Nancy Gamo, is already under the Senate custody following her arrest last July 14.

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For her absence, Guo cited severe exhaustion and trauma following earlier proceedings and the numerous legal cases filed against her. In a statement posted on her Facebook account on Thursday, July 18, she again denied her involvement in various crimes related to POGOs, including alleged threats to Senator Sherwin Gatchalian.

“I appeal to them (senators) to focus their attention on these problems instead of continuously threatening me with arrest and accusing me of being complicit in various Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO)-related crimes, which are untrue and unfounded. I assure the public and Sen. Win Gatchalian that I do not pose any threat to him or to anyone. I categorically deny any involvement in the death threats received by Sen. Win Gatchalian. I have no capacity, much less intent, to cause any harm against anyone,” her statement read.

Barangay Sto. Niño Kagawad Ronald Manalo said some barangay officials remain supportive of Guo despite the controversy and the lies she had been caught telling.

“Whatever we read or whatever’s on the news, we are fed up. We got sick and tired of all of it. They (senators) no longer feel sorry for Guo. It’s better that she won’t show up anymore because we just feel sorry for her. If she shows up, she will only get arrested,” Manalo said in Kapampangan.

“Even with all the lies they said she was saying, we only say one thing — that even if she’s Chinese, she is for the people. We are still for the mayor. You can expect that her name will still be mentioned in the campaigns and during the elections, I tell you.”

Barangay Sto. Niño is the neighboring village of Barangay Anupul, where the vast POGO compound is located and was found to be a hub for criminal activities. — Rappler.com