ALICE GUO PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO QUALIFIED HUMAN TRAFFICKING

DISMISSED Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo on Friday pleaded not guilty to the qualified human trafficking charge during her arraignment.

Guo or Guo Hua Ping pleaded not guilty before the Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 167 via videoconference.

The Pasig City court issued an arrest warrant for Guo and several others for qualified human trafficking. This transferred her from Camp Crame in Quezon City to Pasig City Jail Female Dormitory. 

“We pleaded not guilty. Ma’am pleaded not guilty to the crime alleged,” Guo’s legal counsel Nicole Jamilla said in an ambush interview.

Guo’s counsel said her client is firmly denying the allegations against her.

The case against Guo stemmed from a complaint filed by the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) following a raid of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Bamban town where over 800 Filipinos and foreigners were rescued.

Qualified human trafficking is a non-bailable offense.