Can Alice Guo Still File Candidacy before Comelec amid Pending Cases?
COMELEC – The Commission on Election explained why they cannot refuse the Certificate of Candidacy of Alice Guo if she decides to file.
Currently, the filing of candidacies for the May 2025 Midterm Elections is ongoing. Both local and national elections are set to be held next year. Under the latter, there will be a senatorial race. Several political parties have announced their senatorial slate.
One of questions of many people is about the possibility of Alice Guo seeking a mayoralty comeback in Bamban, Tarlac. The Ombudsman ordered the dismissal of Guo amid her alleged ties to the illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming operations in the country.
Previously, former Bamban Mayor Alice Guo said that she has no definite decision yet on the possibility of running for mayor in next year’s election. She also claimed in one of the Senate hearings that she was allegedly really planning to go home to the Philippines prior to her arrest in Indonesia.
The Indonesian authorities arrested Guo in a rented apartment in Jakarta. She was able to flee the Philippines amid several complaints rolling against her and her name being on the immigration lookout bulleting.
The former Mayor as well as her supposed sister, Shiela Guo who later on claimed they’re not biological sisters, claimed that they left the Philippines through a “small boat”. Their supposed brother, Wesley Guo, has yet to be located by the authorities.
Alice Guo is currently detained in Pasig City Jail. She shares the cell with six (6) inmates. The Court allowed her to attend Senate and House hearings over her alleged illegal POGO operations involvement which she denies.
Guo also continuously claims that she is a Filipino. The Comelec previously reacted to the questionable identity of the former Mayor. Her father is Chinese, her mother is a Filipina, and her fingerprints matched with the fingerprints of Chinese national Guo Hua Ping.
Recently, the Commission on Election admitted that they cannot reject the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) of Alice Guo if ever she decides to file her candidacy for a government post. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said that their power is “ministerial” when it comes to COC.
“Wala po kaming kapangyarihan tanggihan, i-pre-evaluate o i-reject agad ‘yung mga pina-file na COC,” Laudiangco said.
Based on the report, the Comelec Spokesperson further explained that they cannot reject Guo’s candidacy right away but it is also not a guarantee that the acceptance of her COC if she files is equivalent to a qualified candidacy.
“Una, ‘yang kaso niya (Guo) ay gumugulong ngayon. Wala pang desisyon ang mga kasong naka-file sa korte at kahit ‘yung sa Comelec election offense niya na iniimbestigahan namin, wala pa rin pong final na desisyon,” he said.
According to Laudiangco, if ever there is a decision on the charges against Alice Guo, it is either a petition to cancel her COC will be filed or she will be disqualified. Based on the report, their acceptance of the COC of Guo if she files is like in the case of nuisance candidates — although the Comelec knows their nature, they cannot reject their candidacies.