Comelec creates panel to probe Alice Guo's 2022 candidacy

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson George Erwin Garcia has ordered the creation of a fact-finding committee to investigate the candidacy of embattled Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo in the 2022 national and local elections (NLE). 

In a letter dated July 6, Garcia directed the Comelec Law Department to establish a committee that would determine if Guo committed material misrepresentation in her candidacy in the 2022 polls, which may warrant the filing of an election offense. 

“Please coordinate with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Solicitor General, and the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality to seek relevant pieces of information,” said Garcia.

“You may likewise direct the conduct of technical analysis of documents containing fingerprints of registered voters which bear the name Alice Guo, to determine her culpability, if any, and recommend to the Commission En Banc the filing of a case if evidence warrants,” he said. 

Garcia previously said the poll body may file “motu proprio” charges against Guo for misrepresentation following the findings that she and Chinese passport holder Guo Hua Ping have matching fingerprints.

Based on Guo’s certificate of candidacy (COC) when she ran as mayor of the Tarlac municipality in the 2022 elections, she signed a declaration that she is a Filipino citizen, and that she is not a permanent resident of or an immigrant to a foreign country.

The 37-year old Guo also declared Tarlac, Tarlac as her place of birth.

Guo is at the center of the Senate investigation into the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) hub in Bamban after several seized documents showed that she was personally involved in the processing of documents for its operations.

Guo's citizenship was also questioned due to her inconsistent testimonies about her background and the supposed dubious documents regarding her Filipino citizenship.

Earlier, lawyer Stephen David, Guo’s legal counsel, said the suspended mayor is not keen on attending the continuation of the Senate investigation after being "traumatized" during the hearings.—AOL, GMA Integrated News