The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is probing the involvement of government officials in the anomalous registration and transfer of 13 parcels of land in Mangatarem town in Pangasinan to a private firm used by dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo.
‘We’re now tracing how the transactions were processed and approved,’ said NBI Dagupan District Office agent-in-charge Mamerto Tello Jr.
Tello did not name the government officials, but noted that the expanded probe came after the reinstatement of charges against Guo for alleged violations of the anti-dummy law.
The Department of Justice granted last month the motion recommending charges against Guo and several others for simulation of minimum capital stock under Section 2 of Commonwealth Act 108, in reference to the incorporation and operations of 3LIN Q-Farm Inc.
Investigators said the firm might have been used as a vehicle to circumvent constitutional restrictions on foreign ownership of land through falsified corporate structures.
The initial NBI probe showed that some incorporators misrepresented their identities and nationalities, raising red flags that the firm’s ownership may have been structured to appear compliant with Philippine laws while concealing foreign control.