Comelec to file election offense raps vs Mayor Alice Guo

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is preparing to file election offense cases against suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo for alleged misrepresentation in her 2022 Certificate of Candidacy.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia mentioned that they are awaiting the Senate's investigation report and the quo warranto petition from the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to further bolster their case.

Guo may face an election offense with three to five years imprisonment, as well as cases for perjury or falsification of public documents for lying in a sworn document.

A disqualification case cannot be filed against Guo for the 2022 elections as she has already been proclaimed and assumed office, but she will be vulnerable to such petitions if she seeks reelection in 2025.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) confirmed that Mayor Guo's fingerprints matched those of a Chinese woman named Guo Hua Ping, who entered the Philippines in 2003.

Senator Risa Hontiveros revealed this fingerprint match, stating it confirms her suspicion that Mayor Alice Guo is a Chinese national masquerading as a Filipino citizen to facilitate crimes by Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

The mayor is also accused of links with illegal POGOs, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) has instructed the Bureau of Immigration to be on the lookout for Alice Guo and 13 other individuals.