Comelec accuses Alice Guo of misrepresentation

The Philippine Commission on Elections alleges that the former mayor falsely declared Filipino citizenship in her Certificate of Candidacy in 2022.

The Philippines.- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has filed charges against Alice Guo, the suspended mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, accusing her of misrepresenting her citizenship status on her Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for the May 2022 elections. The electoral body has accused Guo of breaching Section 74 of the Omnibus Election Code.

Comelec found inconsistencies between Guos’ COC and a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Alien Fingerprint Card, which reportedly shows her name as Hua Ping Lin Guo, her citizenship as Chinese and her place of residence as Fujian, China. In her COC, Guo said she was born in Tarlac and had resided in the Philippines for 35 years and two months, with 18 years and two months spent in Bamban, Tarlac, before the 2022 elections.

Comelec said it was clear from the evidence that there is “sufficient ground to believe that Respondent committed material misrepresentation in violation of Section 74 of the OEC in relation with Section 262 of the same Code”. An election offence carries a penalty of imprisonment for one to six years, disqualification from holding public office, and revocation of the right to vote.

Earlier this month, Alice Guo’s attorney Stephen David had suggested that Guo would be a candidate in next year’s mayoral elections. The news sparked criticism from several politicians who called for Guo to be disqualified from seeking public office.

Guo later distanced herself from the idea of standing but said: “Even if I do have Chinese blood and there are questions on my nationality, and if you ask me, in front of the whole Philippines I am saying that I choose to be a Filipino. My heart and soul is Filipino.”