MANILA, Philippines — The Law Department of the Commission of Elections (Comelec) has recommended filing a case against suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo for alleged misrepresentation during her filing of candidacy for the 2022 polls.
Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia said this in an ambush interview on Thursday.
READ: Comelec inspects voting records of Alice Guo in Bamban
“Sabi ng Law Department namin, dapat kasuhan ng misrepresentation na base nga sa batas ay kasong kriminal na may kulong na isa hanggang anim na taon,” he said.
(The Law Department said that we should file charges for misrepresentation, which, according to the law, is a criminal case with a prison sentence of one to six years.)
“Kapag ang sabi ng korte ay guilty at naging final and executory and desisyon, perpetual disqualification to hold office po ang parusa sa mga taong makakasuhan at magiging guilty sa kasong election offence. At wala pong pardon na pwedeng igawad, kahit ang ating pangulo, nang wala pong consent ng Comelec,” Garcia explained.
(If the court declares someone guilty and the decision becomes final and executory, the penalty for those found guilty of an election offense is perpetual disqualification from holding public office. Furthermore, no pardon can be granted, not even by the President, without the consent of the Comelec.)
Last Tuesday, Garcia and technical experts from the poll body visited the municipal hall of Bamban to examine the voting records of the suspended mayor.
They inspected Guo’s voter registration records, certificate of candidacy for the May 2022 elections, and the election day computerized voter list.
Furthermore, on Monday, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed a petition for quo warranto before the Manila Regional Trial Court to oust Guo from her position as mayor of Bamban.
The OSG, led by Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, told the court that Guo is “unlawfully holding the position and illegally exercising the duties and responsibilities of the Office of the Mayor of Bamban, Tarlac.”
READ: OSG files a case in court to remove Alice Guo as Bamban, Tarlac mayor
Guo is under investigation for her alleged connection with the raided Philippine offshore gaming operator in Bamban.
Questions about her citizenship were also raised during a Senate inquiry after Sen. Risa Hontiveros pointed out that her birth was registered only in 2013, or 17 years after she was supposedly born in 1986.