MANILA, Philippines — Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo beat the deadline given to her to file her counter-affidavit on the “material misrepresentation” case she is facing before the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Chairman George Erwin Garcia said that Guo, through her lawyer, filed her counter-affidavit at 1 p.m. on Thursday, the last day of a 10-day extended deadline granted by the Comelec Law Department.
At the same time, Garcia denied reports that the Comelec was “singling out” Guo in relation to the misrepresentation case.
The poll chief clarified that there were several other candidates who, like Guo, were also facing misrepresentation charges.
“Just the other day, for your information, the Comelec law department recommended that at least five former candidates be charged with misrepresentation,” added Garcia in Filipino and English.
Garcia said that whether or not Guo filed her counter-affidavit after September 12, the law department would terminate the case and submit its recommendation to the Comelec en banc for determination whether to file information or not against the ex-mayor.
Guo’s case was for violation of Section 74 in relation to Section 262 of the Omnibus Election Code or material misrepresentation, an election offense punishable by 1 to 6 years imprisonment.
If the Commission’s ruling is to file information against Guo, Garcia said, the case would be filed at a Regional Trial Court in Bamban, Tarlac.
On August 6, the Comelec en banc unanimously adopted the recommendation of the Legal Department to file a formal complaint against Guo for alleged misrepresentation in her candidacy in the 2022 local elections.
The Commission’s decision was based on the findings of the the Comelec investigating panel that all fingerprints provided by the National Bureau of Immigration (NBI) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) matched with the fingerprints in Guo’s certificate of candidacy, application for registration as voter, and her fingerprints on the election day computerized voters list or EDCV when she voted in the 2022 elections and 2023 BSKE polls.
The fingerprints from the BI belong to a certain Guo Hua Ping, a Chinese citizen, but subsequent examinations by fingerprints experts from the NBI and the Comelec showed that it was 100 percent match with Mayor Guo’s.
Garcia added that Guo was also liable for “perjury,” a separate case, because she lied under oath when he claimed that she was a Filipino citizen in her certificate of candidacy.
According to Garcia, if Guo is found guilty in Court and the sentence becomes final and executory, she would be perpetually disqualified to hold public office.
Garcia further said there was no pardon if one is found guilty of election offense, adding that the “presidential pardon could only be granted with the consent of the Comelec.”
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