Petition to cancel Alice Guo’s birth certificate filed with Tarlac court

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has filed a petition seeking to cancel the birth certificate of Bamban Mayor Alice Guo.

According to Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, the petition for the cancellation of the certificate of live birth was filed with the Tarlac City Regional Trial Court (RTC).

“If her birth certificate is cancelled, she will lose her most important defense evidence about her identity,” Guevarra said in a message to reporters.

In its petition, the OSG said the legal requirements for late registration were not complied with, citing the absence of supporting documents.

''There were no baptismal certificate, school records, income tax return, insurance policy, medical records, barangay certification, or other documents which could have established Alice's name, the date and place of her birth, and the names of her parents. There was also no affidavit of disinterested witnesses who might have witnessed or known about Alice's birth,'' the petition read.

The OSG also said that it was Guo's father, Angelito, who registered her birth certificate in November 2005, though she was already 19 years old at the time.

Under NSO Administrative Order No. 1-93, a person who is at least 18 years old must personally apply for the late registration of his or her birth, making Guo's case a ''clear violation of the mandatory rule,'' the OSG said.

Aside from this, Guevarra said there were “glaring inconsistencies” between the entries in her birth certificate and information in other public records. 

In her birth certificate, her parents were called Angelito Guo and Amelia Leal and both were declared “Filipinos.” The Philippine Statistics Authority, however, said it had no birth records of Guo’s supposed parents.

Neither the local civil registry office nor the PSA had any records of their marriage, the OSG added.

''More importantly, it must be noted that in the Affidavit of Delayed Registration in Alice's Certificate of Live Birth (COLB), it was indicated that it was accomplished on November 17, 2005. However, based on the records of the Bureau of Immigration, Jianzhong Guo, whom Alice admitted as her father who goes by the name 'Angelito Guo' left the Philippines on November 17, 2005 at 8:45 a.m., and did not return to the Philippines until 10 days later, on November 27, 2005,'' it said.

''How then could Angelito have accomplished the COLB application of Alice on November 17, 2005 if he had already left the country? How could have Angelito caused the registration of Alice's birth and applied for her COLB on November 22, 2005 when in fact he returned to the Philippines only on November 27, 2005?''

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) recently confirmed that Guo and Chinese passport holder Guo Hua Ping have the same fingerprints.

In the Guo family's Special Investor's Resident Visa (SIRV), Lin Wen Yi is also the registered mother of Chinese passport holder Guo Hua Ping.

The NBI also confirmed that Guo’s brother, Wesley Leal Guo, has the same fingerprints as Chinese citizen Guo Xiang Dan.

Guevarra, meanwhile, clarified that the petition for cancellation is not a precondition for the filing of a quo warranto petition, which may result in Guo’s removal from public office.

He, however, said the two petitions will complement each other.

“Her foreign citizenship will not be proved in the cancellation petition but in the quo warranto petition,” the Solicitor General said.

He said that the petition will be filed within the month.

“But I believe we have enough evidence to support a quo warranto petition. The NBI fingerprint was a breakthrough,” Guevarra said.

Guo's camp said they have not yet received a copy of the OSG's petition.

''We will file our answer during the proper time,'' said Guo's legal counsel Nicole Jamila.

In a statement last month, Guo's lawyers said she was ready to address allegations against her by providing "substantial evidence" proving that she is a real Filipino.

They added Guo asserts her Filipino citizenship based on her birthright, cultural ties, and continuous residency in the Philippines, adding that there are community members who are willing to execute affidavits and share their history with Guo.

For her part, Senator Risa Hontiveros said that the investigation of the Senate women, children, family relations and gender equality committee found Guo’s birth certificate to be irregular.

“Mayor Guo is already backed into a corner. If I were her, I would cut my losses and expose the architects of this large-scale scam enterprise,” Hontiveros said in a statement.

“Dapat humarap nalang siya sa aming susunod na pagdinig at magpakatotoo na (she should appear in our next hearing and be truthful),” she added.

Guo's identity went under close scrutiny after law enforcement authorities raided a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Bamban over alleged illegal activities. 

Authorities have filed a complaint against Guo and 13 others for violation of Sections 4 and 6 of Republic Act (RA) 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 as amended by RA 10364, as further amended by RA 11862.

Guo was also referred to as “a.k.a Guo Hua Ping” in the complaint.

Earlier in June, the Department of the Interior and Local Government filed graft charges against Guo with the Office of the Ombudsman, prompting it to suspend her for up to six months.—AOL/VBL, GMA Integrated News