Comelec to rule on Guo’s case before Oct. 30

The Commission on Elections will release its final ruling on the misrepresentation complaint against dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo before Oct. 30.

“Before Oct. 30, we will have a recommendation, not just on Guo but on the other cases pending,” Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia said.

The Office of the Ombudsman earlier submitted its decision to perpetually disqualify Guo from holding public office to Comelec.

Garcia said a candidate can be removed if one is declared a nuisance candidate; is facing a complaint of misrepresentation, or is ordered by the Ombudsman to be perpetually disqualified from holding public office.

“The third one is most crucial for us. Even if a case is pending before another court, the Comelec can always implement and execute a decision of the Office of the Ombudsman,” he said.

“As far as the Comelec is concerned, we will enforce or implement the Ombudsman’s decision,” he added.

Calls have snowballed for Comelec to bar Guo, also known as Guo Hua Ping, from running for public office.

“This is yet another brazen attempt to undermine the country’s laws. I strongly urge the Comelec to immediately enforce the necessary legal measures to disqualify her from seeking public office,” Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said.

Senator Risa Hontiveros said Guo will be committing perjury if she declares that she is Filipino in her certificate of candidacy.

“The COC is an important document executed under oath. If Guo Hua Ping will insist on her lie, perjury will be added to the list of crimes where she is involved,” Hontiveros added.

Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong also denounced Guo’s declaration of her intention to run for Bamban mayor.

“Allowing her candidacy would not only be a mockery of the law but also an insult to the Filipino electorate. We have seen candidates disqualified as nuisance candidates for far less—for having similar names to incumbents or lacking the resources to run a viable campaign. Guo Hua Ping’s deceitful background and foreign ties represent a far greater threat to the integrity of our elections,” Adiong said.

“We cannot afford to allow our electoral system to be manipulated by individuals with questionable motives and shadowy pasts. The people of Bamban, Tarlac deserve better, and so does our country,” he added.

For his part, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the National Prosecution Service (NPS) will seize the opportunity to go “all-out” in prosecuting Guo and her co-respondents in the qualified human trafficking case lodged against them.

“[The Department of Foreign Affairs] (DFA)’s decisive call to revoke the passport of Guo undoubtedly opened the doors to justice, this marks the beginning of a relentless pursuit to ensure accountability and uphold the rule of law,” Remulla said.

“(We will) prosecute this case to the fullest until justice is served,” he added.