(UPDATE) THE Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the preventive suspension of Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo while the government investigates her alleged connection to an illegal online gambling operation in her town.

The order issued on May 31 stemmed from a recommendation by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to suspend Guo after a task force looking into the allegations concerning her links to illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) in her town found "serious illegal acts."

Ombudsman Samuel Martires said there were "sufficient grounds to preventively suspend" Guo.

Aside from Guo, two other Bamban local officials were ordered suspended — Municipal Business Permits and Licensing Office head Edwin Ocampo and Municipal Legal Officer Adenn Sigua.

Guo, Ocampo and Sigua were all placed under preventive suspension not exceeding six months without pay pending the result of the investigation being undertaken against them.

The order was immediately executory.

Charges of grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service were filed by the DILG against the three Bamban officials last month for allegedly allowing illegal POGOs to operate in their town.

Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said the DILG recommended preventive suspension against Guo to prevent her from influencing the continuing investigations by his department and other agencies.

Law enforcers had discovered that a POGO operation in the Baufo Land Development Corp. compound in her town was really a front for a scam center.

Authorities raided the facility in March and rescued close to 700 workers, including 202 Chinese and 73 other foreigners who were forced to pose as online lovers as part of the scam.

A year earlier, in February 2023, the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Central Luzon raided Hongsheng Gaming Technology Inc. in the same compound.

The ombudsman said the DILG-created task force had found in its investigation that Guo had bought eight parcels of land in Anupul village in Bamban and that transfer certificates of title were issued in the name of Baufo.

The DILG alleged that Guo's divestment of shares in Baufo through a deed of assignment was simulated because the consideration of [P2.5 million] was "grossly incongruent to her investment in Baufo," which is about 8 hectares of land.

The DILG also alleged that despite the raid of Zun Yuan [Technology] and its predecessor Hongsheng, the cancellation of Hongsheng's license to operate, and a cease and desist order issued by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Guo did not cancel or revoke their business permits because of her business interest in Baufo.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who has been leading a Senate investigation into Bamban POGO operation, lauded the ombudsman's preventive suspension order against the town mayor.

"It's as it should be," she said in Filipino when asked to comment on the order.

The senator on Monday said she had already sought Guo's preventive suspension after she visited the raided POGO compound in Bamban.

"We also received information that she tried to obstruct the ongoing investigation immediately after the POGO was raided. This should have already warranted a suspension. We only hope this is not too late," she said.

She added that Guo's connections to the POGO were documented.

She added, "Let us not forget, this is a POGO with alleged hacking and surveillance activities. [A] POGO, which brought scams, crimes and human trafficking in the country."

A statement from Guo's lawyer, Alex Avisado Jr., welcomed the opportunity to answer allegations against his client in court rather than the Senate.

"We recently learned from news reports that a complaint was filed against our client Mayor Alice Guo with the Ombudsman. We welcome this development as the issues surrounding the mayor can now be addressed in a proper forum, where the focus is on facts and evidence rather than public attacks and ridicule. We hope that the filing of the case with the Ombudsman will put an end to this political persecution and finally uncover the truth that Mayor Guo has no involvement in the POGO operations in Bamban," he said in a statement.

"We do not agree with the issuance of preventive suspension order, but we will promptly answer the allegations raised against the mayor once we receive a copy of the complaint," he added.

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