Alice Guo, the dismissed mayor of Banban City in Tarlac Province, admitted that she knew the lawyer suspected of notarizing her affidavit of contradiction. Reports indicate that Ms. Guo had left the country when lawyer Elmer Galicia notarized her affidavit in Bulacan Province.
When the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) asked her if she knew Galicia, Ms. Guo said, "Know him? Oh."
However, when asked when they met and whether she personally appeared before him to notarize her affidavit, she declined to comment.
A 2018 Supreme Court ruling stated that a lawyer can only notarize documents when the signatory personally appears before them to attest to the contents of the documents.
Nevertheless, it is not uncommon for the person getting a document notarized to never meet the notarizing lawyer, instead going through secretaries or legal assistants.
