Comelec panel recommends poll case vs. Guo for misrepresentation

By Ferdinand Patinio, Philippine News Agency

Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said this is based on the report submitted by the panel on Thursday. (File Photo: COMELEC/Facebook)

MANILA – The fact-finding panel of the Commission of Elections (Comelec) has recommended the filing of an election offense case against Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo for alleged misrepresentation in her certificate of candidacy (COC) when she ran in the May 2022 polls.

Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said this is based on the report submitted by the panel on Thursday.

“The (law) department finds sufficient factual basis to proceed with the preliminary investigation and thus respectfully recommends that this department be directed to file a motu proprio complaint and conduct a preliminary investigation against Mayor Alice Guo/Guo Hua Ping for material misrepresentation in violation of Section 74 in relation to Section 262 of the Omnibus Election Code,” he said in an interview.

Garcia said the recommendation would be immediately studied by the Comelec en banc.

“Napatunayan din ng investigation panel na ang lahat ng fingerprints nung anim na tao – dalawa sa National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), isa sa Bureau of Immigration (BI), 3 sa COC, application for voter registration, at Election Day Computerized Voters List (EDCVL) ng Comelec – lahat yan pare pareho at isang tao lang may-ari ng fingerprints na ito. Base sa findings ng mga eksperto at investigating panel ay kay Mayor Guo (The investigation panel also proved that all fingerprints of six individuals – two from the NBI, one from the BI, and three from the COC, application for voter registration, and EDCVL from the Comelec – all of these are the same and belong to one person. Based on the findings of our experts and the investigating panel, these all belong to Mayor Guo,” the poll body chief added.

He said the seven-member Comelec en banc will decide on the panel’s recommendation “early next week”.

“Kung sakali ang action ng Commission ay adopt ang recommendations ng law department, magkakaroon naman ng preliminary investigation at makakasagot naman si Mayor Guo (If the Commission resolves the recommendations of the law department, we will hold a preliminary investigation and Mayor Guo would be given a chance to answer),” Garcia added.

The fact-finding panel was created to determine if Guo made false claims in her COC.

Part of its tasks is to analyze the fingerprints of Guo from her voter registration records, COC, and EDCVL for the 2022 national and local polls and 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.

On the other hand, the BI report showed that a certain Guo Hua Ping entered the Philippines on Jan. 12, 2003 when she was 13 years old while the NBI reported that the fingerprints of Mayor Guo matched with that of Guo Hua Ping.

In her COC, the Bamban mayor indicated that her place of birth is Tarlac, Tarlac and has been living in the Philippines for 35 years and two months.

On Monday, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed a quo warranto petition to oust Guo from her post as Bamban mayor as she is not a Filipino.

The OSG said Guo is a Chinese national and is ineligible to run for any elective public office.