MANILA – Suspended Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo may be charged with an election-related offense case for misrepresentation, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said.
According to Comelec chairman George Garcia, the poll body may file charges “motu proprio” against Guo following the findings that she and Chinese passport holder Guo Hua Ping have matching fingerprints.
“Ang isang taong ‘yan ay pupwedeng humarap ng election offense na may three to five years na imprisonment,” Garcia said in an interview with DZBB AM radio.
“At the same time, pwedeng maharap ng kasong perjury o dahil nagsinungaling nga sa isang pinanumpaan na dokumento, kasong falsification [of public document],” he added.
Guo, on her Certificate of Candidacy (COC) when she ran as mayor of the Tarlac municipality in the 2022 elections, declared that she is a Filipino citizen, and that she is not a permanent resident of or an immigrant to a foreign country.
Garcia also stated that the country’s laws are applicable to anyone, whether they are Filipinos or foreigners.
“Kahit ang isang taong tumakbo ay hindi nafile-an ng kasong disqualification o kanselasyon ng kanyang candidacy, hindi nangangahulugan na siya ay pupwede nang malibre o ma-abswelto sa kahit na anong obligasyon o responsibilidad, lalo pa’t ito’y kasong kriminal, lalo na ‘yung tinatawag na misrepresentation,” Garcia said.
The poll body previously submitted to the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality the COC and Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) of Guo, where she listed Tarlac, Tarlac as her place of birth.
Guo also stated in her COC that on the day before the May 9 elections, she has been living in the Philippines for 35 years and two months and she has been living in the municipality of Bamban, Tarlac for 18 years and two months.
But Sen. Risa Hontiveros, as confirmed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), revealed that the embattled mayor and Guo Hua Ping are the same person following finding that they have matching fingerprints./PN
