MANILA – Bamban, Tarlac’s Mayor Alice Guo could be charged with perjury if proven that she misdeclared herself as a Filipino citizen in her certificate of candidacy (COC), the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said.
According to Comelec chairperson George Garcia, Guo could be held liable since the poll body presumes the declaration of aspiring candidates in their COC is true since it is done under oath.
“Kung mapapatunayan na hindi naman talaga siya Filipino citizen, siya po ay puwedeng maging liable o makasuhan ng perjury,” Garcia said in an interview with Teleradyo Serbisyo on Tuesday.
The Comelec chair stated that Guo was able to run for mayor because no one questioned her COC before the poll body or the regional trial court before the May 2022 elections.
Garcia also cited the need for stricter laws on COC, saying the Comelec’s role in accepting the COCs is purely ministerial.
“Dapat gawing hindi ministerial ang duty naming. We have the right to refuse to accept the certificate of candidacy or at the same time mag-require tayo na maglakip ng mga dokumento na magpapatunay sa mga deklarasyon nila. Age, halimbawa. Sabi niya siya ay 21 years of age para maging mayor. E di dapat po ay i-require ‘yung paglalakip ng birth certificate,” Garcia said.
“Kung sinabi na siya ay Filipino citizen o kaya ay natural-born citizen, ano pa ang mga dokumento na nagpapatunay na siya ay citizen ng Pilipinas. Pwede pong i-require ‘yun,” he added.
The identity of the 37-year-old Guo was put in question as she claimed in a Senate hearing that she has forgotten or has no knowledge of her personal details like her place of birth and name of school attended.
Guo only has a certificate of live birth, wherein it was declared that her father is a Filipino, but her father’s business records show that he declared being a Chinese national.
Additionally, Guo only registered as a voter in 2021 and won the mayoral election in Bambam town in Tarlac in 2022 despite having no background in politics.
Guo was being questioned due to her possible links to POGOs in the Baofu compound, which is located in Bambam, Tarlac./PN
