Comelec Investigates Mayor Alice Guo over Identity Issues
ALICE GUO – Commission on Election (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia confirmed that they are investigating the Mayor and she needs to appear if a case is filed against her.
Suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Guo is facing accusations of alleged involvement in the Philippine Offshore Gaming operations in her town. However, currently, the Mayor cannot be located by the authorities.
Mayor Guo skipped the June 26 and July 10 hearings set by Senate. According to her lawyer, Attorney Stephen David, the Mayor was “traumatized” by the treatment to her in the previous hearings.
Following her absence in the Senate hearings, the committee cited Guo for contempt. Senate President Chiz Escudero signed the committee’s letter and an arrest order was released by the Senate against Mayor Guo.
The Senate’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms visited all the registed addresses of Mayor Guo but they failed to locate her. There was also negative presence of the suspended Mayor in her farm and garments factories.
Mayor Alice is facing not only accusations of her alleged involvement in the illegal POGO operations in her town but as well as questions about her identity, According to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the fingerprints of Mayor Guo and Chinese national Guo Hua Ping matched.
Amid the questions about her identity and citizenship, Comelec announced that it is also investigating Mayor Alice Guo. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, Comelec chairman George Garcia said that the investigation of her questionable identity and citizenship is in relation to her candidacy in 2021-2022.
According to Garcia, if a case will be filed against Mayor Guo, she may need to personally appear for the filing of her counter-affidavit. The Comelec chairman stressed that her lawyer cannot do it because it is the accused that must swear to the authenticity of the counter-affidavit filed.
Based on the report, the Comelec intends to visit the local registrar of Bamban, Tarlac where suspended Mayor Alice Guo processed her Certificate of Candidacy (COC) in 2021. Garcia stressed that the probe will include the examination of the fingerprints of Guo.
Recently, Mayor Alice Guo released a statement. She expressed her readiness to face the accusations against her if there is an evidence at a property forum. She also told the lawmakers in the Senate that there are “critical issues” they must focus on instead of her.