Alice Guo warned of more cases if she files COC for 2025 polls
Metro Manila, Philippines — The reported plan of Alice Guo to seek re-election next year was met with criticism from senators, with one warning her she might be slapped with another case if she filed her candidacy.
In a statement, Sen. Risa Hontiveros argued Guo would be committing an act of material misrepresentation if the former mayor submitted a certificate of candidacy (COC) where she “falsely declares herself to be a Filipino citizen.”
“The COC is an important document executed under oath,” Hontiveros said Saturday, Oct. 5. “Kung magpupumilit si Guo Hua Ping sa kanyang kasinungalingan, dadagdag pa ang perjury sa litanya ng mga krimen na kanyang kinasasangkutan.”
[Translation: If Guo Hua Ping sticks with her lie, perjury will be added to the string of cases she faces.]
Senate Presidente Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, along with Senators Win Gatchalian and Joel Villanueva, slammed the reported plan of Guo, who they called a “fake Filipino.”
“While the Commission on Elections is constrained to accept Guo Hua Ping’s [COC] as part of their ministerial duty, we note that there is a pending material misrepresentation case against her when she ran for Mayor in 2022, along with several cases filed by other agencies pertaining to her true identity,” Villanueva said. “It would be ridiculous if she would still be allowed to run again.”
Guo is at the center of the illegal offshore gaming operations scandal, with her Chinese citizenship among the issues hounding her. Add to that allegations that she is a Chinese spy. Guo has rejected the claim.
Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel said Guo is not yet barred from running for public office as there was still no final conviction in charges filed against her, especially since her citizenship issue is still in litigation.
Guo is detained in the Pasig City Jail for a non-bailable qualified human trafficking charge.
Stephen David, Guo’s lawyer, said her client’s COC will be filed by a representative next week.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has canceled the dismissed mayor’s Philippine passport, saying it was “fraudulently acquired.”
The decision was based on findings of the National Bureau of Investigation that the biometrics of Alice Leal Guo in the passport database matched those of Guo Hua Ping in NBI files.
In July, the Office of the Solicitor General filed a petition with a Tarlac court seeking to cancel Guo’s birth certificate, and subsequently a quo warranto petition before a Manila court.
