Comelec files criminal complaint against suspended mayor Alice Guo

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has filed criminal charges against ousted Bamban and Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo for making false statements or misrepresenting herself as a Filipino when she filed her certificate of candidacy (CoC) for mayor in the recent 2022 elections.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia announced on Tuesday that a criminal complaint has been filed with the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Capas, Tarlac, for violation of Article 74 of the Omnibus Electoral Code (OEC) in relation to Article 262 of the same law.

“On or about October 1, 2022 and during the period of filing 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, a municipality of the Municipality of Bamban, Province of Tarlac By filing his candidacy for the position of president and declaring under oath that he was eligible for the office, he then and there knowingly and unlawfully made a material misrepresentation on the criminal information form that he was seeking election when in fact he was a Chinese citizen and a resident of Fujian, China. position.

The case against Guo was filed by a representative of the Comelec Department of Law, with the assistance of District 3 Assistant District Electoral attorney Elmo Duque and Bamban Tarlac Electoral Officer Edmund Salvador.

On August 6, the Comelec en banc unanimously adopted the Law Department’s recommendation to file a formal complaint against Guo for allegedly making false statements regarding his candidacy in the 2022 local elections.

The commission’s decision was based on the Comelec investigative panel’s findings that all fingerprints provided by the National Bureau of Immigration (NBI) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) matched the fingerprints on Guo’s candidacy document, his application to register as a voter. and fingerprints found on the computerized voter list on election day or on the EDCV when voting in the 2022 elections and 2023 BSKE polls.

The fingerprints obtained from the BI belonged to Guo Hua Ping, a Chinese national, but subsequent examination by fingerprint experts from the NBI and the Comelec showed that it was a 100 percent match with Guo’s.

Garcia added that Guo is also liable for “perjury,” which is a separate case, because Guo lied under oath when claiming to be a Filipino citizen in his CoC.

Garcia also said there would be no pardon if someone is found guilty of election crimes, adding that “a presidential pardon can only be granted with the consent of the Comelec.” Guo is currently detained at the Pasig City Jail Women’s Dormitory pursuant to an arrest warrant issued by Pasig City RTC Branch 167 for the crime of aggravated human trafficking. He was not recommended to be released on bail by the court.

Guo has been tagged as one of the masterminds behind illegal activities linked to the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), which carries evidence of crimes ranging from fraud to human trafficking. He is part owner of the real estate firm that leased its land to the POGO center in Bamban, which was raided by the authorities.

In addition to the misrepresentation case filed by the Comelec, Guo also faces multiple charges of human trafficking, corruption and money laundering.