Comelec: Bamban Mayor Guo could face perjury if proven not a Filipino citizen

Bamban Mayor Alice Guo could be charged with perjury if she misdeclared herself as a Filipino citizen, Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson George Garcia said on Monday.

In an ambush interview right after a Senate hearing, Garcia was asked about the possibility that Guo presented fake documents that allowed her to run as mayor of the Tarlac municipality in the 2022 elections.

“Kung mapapatunayan na hindi naman talaga siya Filipino citizen ay siya po ay puwedeng maging liable o makasuhan ng perjury,” Garcia said.

(If it is proven that she is not really a Filipino citizen, then she can be liable or be charged with perjury.)

According to Garcia, the Comelec only requires aspiring candidates to submit a certificate of candidacy, in which they declare that they are Filipino citizens.

“As far as the Comelec is concerned, ang sinasubmit lang po sa atin base sa ating batas base sa desisyon ng Korte Suprema ay certificate of candidacy,” he said.

(As far as the Comelec is concerned, what needs to be submitted to us, based on our law and the decision of the Supreme Court, is a certificate of candidacy.)

“Wala pong nire-require ang batas na i-submit mo o dalhin mo ang nanay at tatay mo para patunayan na ikaw ay Filipino,” he added.

(The law does not require you to submit or bring your mother and father to prove that you are Filipino.)

Garcia said the poll body presumes the declaration of aspiring candidates is true until a disqualification or cancellation of candidacy case is filed by a registered voter.

Senator Risa Hontiveros earlier questioned Guo's identity, saying the mayor had no official records to prove she was a Filipino, and went as far as to ask whether the official was a Chinese citizen.

At a news conference a day after a Senate inquiry on the raid of the Philippine offshore gaming operation (POGO) compound in Bamban, Hontiveros said Guo lied when the mayor denied any connection with Hongsheng Gaming Technology, Inc.

According to Hontiveros, Guo's name only floated during the 2022 elections despite the latter having no hospital record of birth and no school records in the Philippines.

The senator noted that Guo only has a certificate of live birth, wherein it was declared that her father is a Filipino. However, Hontiveros said business records show that Guo's father declared that he is a Chinese national.

It was later learned that Guo's registration of live birth was only filed when she was already 17 years old.

The 37-year old mayor cast doubts as to her identity during the hearing by claiming she has forgotten or has no knowledge of her personal details. —RF, GMA Integrated News