(UPDATE) THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) filed criminal complaints against ousted Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo for misrepresentation or for misrepresenting herself as a Filipino when she filed her certificate of candidacy (CoC) for mayor for the 2022 elections.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Tuesday that the criminal complaint was filed before the Regional Trial Court of Capas, Tarlac, for violation of Section 74 of the Omnibus Election Code in relation to Section 262 of the same code.
On Aug. 6, the Comelec en banc unanimously adopted the recommendation of the Legal Department to file a complaint against Guo for misrepresentation in her candidacy in the 2022 local elections.
Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN
The commission’s decision was based on the findings of 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 CoC, application for registration as voter, and her fingerprints on the election day computerized voters list when she voted in the 2022 elections and 2023 barangay (village) polls.
The fingerprints from the BI belong to Guo Hua Ping, a Chinese citizen, but subsequent examinations by fingerprint experts from the NBI and Comelec showed that it was a 100 percent match with Guo’s.
Garcia added that Guo is also liable for “perjury” because she lied under oath when she claimed that she is a Filipino citizen in her CoC.
He said there is 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.”
Guo is currently detained at the Pasig City Jail for qualified trafficking. No bail has been recommended by the court.
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