MANILA — After being removed from office as mayor of Bamban, Tarlac due to her alleged ties with illegal POGOs, can Alice Guo still vie for a government post?

Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco weighed in on the question after reports surfaced Tuesday that Guo might file her certificate of candidacy (COC) for the upcoming 2025 elections.

"Ang kapangyarihan po ng Comelec ay ministerial ang duty pagdating sa COC. So wala po kaming kapangyarihan tanggihan, i-pre-evaluate o i-reject agad 'yung mga pina-file na COC," Laudiangco said on TeleRadyo Serbisyo's Johnson Ikwento Mo.

"Hindi kasi namin basta-basta mare-reject ito. 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 added.

However, the Comelec official clarified filing a COC is not a guarantee that the aspirant is already a candidate for the 2025 elections.

"Hindi po ibigsabihin na na-file 'yung COC sa amin ay garatisado na siyang kandidato. Dahil kung katulad po nitong kasong ito na mayroong mga nakabinbin na kaso bagamat wala pang nadedesisyunan hanggang ngayon, 'pag napagdesisyunan na 'yan, it's either mapa-filean siya ng petition to cancel COC or madi-disqualify siya dahil may na-attach sa kaniya na accessory penalty," he said.

"Lahat kasi — kahit sa tingin namin nuisance candidate — hindi namin pwedeng tanggihan 'yan. Ang ginagawa po ng Comelec is in compliance with due process at sinasampahan ng petition to declare as nuisance candidate," he continued.

Laudiangco said that even though aspirants flocked to their offices on the first day of the filing of COCs, they are still expecting a lot more as the deadline on October 8 nears.