Comelec serves subpoena vs Alice Guo in Tarlac

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday served a subpoena against suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo in relation to the material misrepresentation complaint filed against her. 

Comelec representatives visited the address indicated on Guo’s certificate of candidacy as well as her office in Bamban to serve the document as part of the  preliminary investigation on her case. 

An unauthorized staff member received the document at her farm while the mayor’s secretary formally accepted the subpoena.

“The priority ng pag-serve ng subpoena kelangan ay personal service. Ngayon, wala si Guo kaya ang gagawin natin may directive tayo na ibibigay sa election officer… siya ngayon magse-serve in two consecutive dates for three consecutive times… And then, gagamitin nating ang rules of court, part ‘yan ng Rule 14, ipapadala sa e-mail address or if applicable pa ma-bind sa legal process,” lawyer Elmo Duque, Comelec Region III Assistant Regional Election Director, told reporters. 

(The priority in serving subpoena is personal service. She’s not here so we issued a directive to an election officer to serve it in two consecutive dates for three consecutive times. We will also send the mayor an email.)

Duque also said Guo will be deemed informed of her case and notified of the process even after she failed to personally receive the subpoena after three consecutive attempts. 

“It is deemed she is notified of the process against her and therefore, it is a waiver on our part if she would not respond to the subpoena issued to her and the complaint attached alongside with the documents that support the complaints,” he said. 

Last week, the Comelec en banc has approved the recommendation of its law department to file a motu proprio complaint against Guo. Comelec chairperson George Garcia said she would be allowed to answer to the complaint. 

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. —KBK, GMA Integrated News