Alice Guo will file COC next week — lawyer

Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo will file her certificate of candidacy (COC) next week for her reelection as the top official of the municipality, her lawyer said Friday.

"Next week," Stephen David, Guo's legal counsel, said when asked about the matter in an ambush interview at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

David said Guo’s camp may file her COC on Tuesday, Oct. 8, the deadline for the submission of COCs.

He said that courts have yet to decide whether Guo is a Filipino or not.

"Makakansel ba ‘yun? 'Di ba? She's a Filipino, she's a Filipina, so wala namang decisions ang courts as of now na hindi siya Filipino," he said.

(Will that be cancelled? She's a Filipino, a Filipina, and the courts have not made any decisions as of now stating that she's not Filipino.)

In July, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed a quo warranto petition against Guo before a Manila court, which may result in her removal from office.

The OSG also filed a petition to cancel the former mayor’s birth certificate before a Tarlac court. Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said that if cancelled, Guo would lose her most important defense on her identity.

Speaking before the four committees of the House of Representatives investigating crimes linked to POGOs, Guo said on Sept. 19 that she has yet to decide whether or not she would seek reelection in the 2025 midterm elections.

At the time, Guo said members of her slate during the 2022 elections would still seek to extend their terms next year.

She added that she has not been communicating a lot with her vice mayor and councilors even before she escaped the Philippines.

According to David, Guo should run so they could see if locals still loved her.

"Kasi right now, maraming negative publicity, maraming rin nag sy-symphatize, marami din naman siyang nagawang mabuti sa bayan ng Bamban. Marami pa rin nag mamahal sa kanya," he said.

(Right now, there's a lot of negative publicity, many people sympathize, and there are also many good things she has done for the town of Bamban. Many people still love her.)

"So 'yun ang pakiusap ko. Kung bigyan siya ng pagkakataon para malaman naman ng bayan, eh siya ba ay karapat dapat manalo o hindi," he added.

(So, that’s my plea. Give her a chance so that the country may know if she should win or not.)

In August, the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed Guo from service with forfeiture of all her retirement benefits as well as perpetual disqualification from public office.

It said Guo's acts, such as her involvement in the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Bamban showed a "willful intent on her part to violate the law or disregard established rules."

Her lawyer, however, said that the Ombudsman’s ruling is not final and that they asked the court to reconsider its decision.

When sought for comment, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Guo can try to seek reelection, though he expressed belief that it is not her right to do so.

"I wouldn't say it's her right, cause she's not Filipino and she bears falsified documents," Remulla said.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) previously said it does not  have the power to automatically cancel Guo's candidacy should she run for another seat.

Preliminary probe

David was at the DOJ on Friday to represent Guo, also identified as Guo Hua Ping, and Shiela Guo, the former mayor’s purported sister, in the preliminary probe on the money laundering complaint against her and 35 others.

Shiela Guo attended the deportation case hearing at the Bureau of Immigration.

According to David, there was a lack of coordination, leading to the non-attendance of the dismissed mayor at the DOJ hearing.

"Kaya nga inaayos para sa susunod na proceedings maka-attend sila (That's why we want it fixed so that they will be able to attend the next proceedings)," he said.

Meanwhile, Cassandra Li Ong, the authorized representative of POGO firm Lucky South 99 in Pampanga, attended the hearing in person.

Ong also personally attended the preliminary probe on her qualified trafficking case on Friday afternoon.

Her legal counsel, Raphael Andrada, said Ong's camp asked the DOJ for an extension in the filing of a counter affidavit. 

Guo is facing a qualified human trafficking case before a Pasig court as well as a graft case before a Valenzuela court.

A quo warranto petition was also filed against Guo with a Manila court, as well as a petition to cancel her birth certificate before a Tarlac court.

She is also facing a tax evasion complaint before the Justice Department.

Guo was recently tagged as a Chinese spy by Chinese Cambodian businessman She Zhijiang in a report of international news channel Al Jazeera.

The former mayor has denied knowing or having any connection with She, who also claimed to be a former Chinese spy.

Senators

Senator Joel Villanueva stressed that though Comelec may be constrained to accept Guo’s COC, there is a pending misrepresentation case against her as well as other cases about her identity.

“It would be ridiculous if she would still be allowed to run again,” Villanueva said in a statement.

He said that it also cannot be argued that Guo is a “fake” Filipino who used a fake birth certificate. He also said that her fingerprints matched Chinese national Guo Hua Ping.

“Isang pagbalahura at pambabastos po sa ating mga batas ang ginagawa ni Guo Hua Ping at ng kanyang mga POGO sponsors,” he said.

(Guo Hua Ping and her POGO sponsors are blatantly disregarding our laws.)

Meanwhile, Senator Jinggoy Estrada said that the right to run for public office is a privilege given to Filipinos. 

“Ang pribilehiyong ito na nakasaad sa ating Konstitusyon ay para lamang sa ating mga kapwa at hindi kailanman maaaring ibigay sa mga pekeng Filipino,” he said in a separate statement.

(This privilege as stated in our Constitution is only for our fellow Filipinos and must never be given to fake Filipinos.)

Aside from this, Estrada said that it is the responsibility of every candidate to share factual information about themselves and to follow the law regarding candidacy.

Senator Koko Pimentel, meanwhile, said that Guo can still run as there are no convictions against her while her citizenship is still being litigated.— VDV, GMA Integrated News