MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) filed criminal charges 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 in the last 2022 elections.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia disclosed on Tuesday that the criminal complaint was filed before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Capas, Tarlac for violation of Section 74 of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC) in relation to Section 262 of the same Code.
“That on or about October 1, 2022, and during the period for the filing certificate of candidacy in connection with the May 9, 2022 national and local elections in the Municipality of Bamban, Province of Tarlac,…. the accused Alice Leal Guo/Jua Ping Lin Guo, did then and there, wilfully and unlawfully, commit material misrepresentation by filing the certificate of candidacy for the position of mayor of the Municipality of Bamban, Province of Tarlac, and declaring under oath that she is eligible for the position she seeks to be elected, when in truth and in fact, she is a Chinese citizen and a resident of Fujian, China,” the criminal information sheet read.
The case against Guo was filed by the Comelec Law Department representative, assisted by the Assistant Regional Election for Region 3 lawyer Elmo Duque and Bamban Tarlac Election Officer Edmund Salvador.
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 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 CoC.
Garcia further said there was no pardon if one was 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 -Lady Dormitory by virtue of an arrest warrant issued by RTC Branch 167 of Pasig City for qualified trafficking, No bail has been recommended by the Court.
Guo was tagged as one of the masterminds behind illegal activities tied to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), which bore evidence of crimes ranging from scamming to human trafficking. She is part owner of the real estate firm that leased its land to the POGO hub in Bamban that was raided by the authorities.
Aside from the misrepresentation case filed by Comelec, Guo is also facing charges for multiple counts of human trafficking, graft, and money laundering.
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