Comelec to file misrepresentation rap vs. Guo before Tarlac court

UNCOOPERATIVE. Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo attends the probe on illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators at the Senate in Pasay City on Monday (Sept. 9, 2024). She was cited in contempt for continuously refusing to answer most of the questions from the panel. (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)

By Ferdinand Patinio, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Wednesday it would file the material misrepresentation case against dismissed mayor Alice Guo before the Tarlac Regional Trial Court (RTC) “at the proper time.”

“Sa araw na ito, ilalabas ng (Comelec) law department ang notice para sa resolution na promulgated ng en banc at siyempre bibigyan ng ilang araw ang dating mayor upang makaisip ng legal remedy, as far as our resolution is concerned (Today, the law department will issue the notice on the resolution promulgated by the en banc and of course, the former mayor will be given a few days to think of a legal remedy, as far as our resolution is concerned),” Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said in a press briefing.

Garcia said the poll body is also looking into the possibility of requesting a transfer of the venue of the case, should it proceed.

“Tayo naman kung saka-sakali dito sa Metro Manila na malipat. Dahil siyempre alam natin posible natin kaharapin kapag nasa Tarlac ang kaso (As for us, we would opt for it to be transferred to Metro Manila. Of course, we know the situation if the case is in Tarlac),” he added.

On Tuesday, the poll body adopted the recommendation of its law department to charge Guo for material misrepresentation over false information stated in her certificate of candidacy (COC) for the 2022 elections.

It noted that Guo failed to prove that she had renounced her Chinese citizenship.

It also said Guo’s deliberate act of misrepresentation was “bolstered by the fact that she executed and notarized her COC under oath before a notary public, which serves as a formal acknowledgment that she affirmed the veracity of the entries contained therein.”

Material misrepresentation requires the presence of two conditions – that the misrepresentation refers to qualifications for elective office; and that the misrepresentation is a deliberate attempt to mislead, misinform, or hide a fact which otherwise renders a candidate ineligible.

Aside from material misrepresentation, the former mayor is facing charges of human trafficking and tax evasion.