Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo present during the Quad Comm hearing into Illegal POGOs, illegal drugs, and alleged EJKs during the Duterte Administration in Quezon City on September 19, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA (2nd UPDATE) — Alice Guo will run again for mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, her lawyer said Friday, as she continued to fight allegations that she is a Chinese national with links to organized crime. 

Guo, who is detained over charges related to illegal POGOs, will file her certificate of candidacy next week through a representative, said her lawyer Stephen David.

“Dapat kasi makita ng bayan kung mahal talaga siya ng Bamban. Kasi kung mahal siya, mananalo siya. Kung ayaw na sa kanya, hindi na siya mananalo,” David said in a phone interview.

He downplayed a petition for the cancellation of Guo’s birth certificate, one of the requirements for candidates, pending before a Tarlac court.

“Mahabang proseso iyon eh, maka-cancel ba iyon? She is a Filipina so wala namang desisyon as of now na hindi siya Filipino,” David said.

Even the perpetual disqualification order of the Office of the Ombudsman will not deter Guo, according to David.

“Kanya-kanyang opinyon yan eh pero siyempre iyong Comelec ang magde-decide niyan kung qualified siya kasi iyong Ombudsman ruling hindi pa final iyon,” David said.

David was at the Department of Justice to attend the preliminary investigation for the money laundering complaint against Guo for her supposed involvement in illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations of POGOs.

Guo, who is in detention at the Pasig City Jail for her ongoing trafficking case, failed to attend for lack of coordination, David said.

Guo’s co-respondents, including Lucky South 99 representative Cassandra Ong and other foreign nationals, attended the preliminary investigation.

Guo is also facing charges for graft, qualified human trafficking, and tax evasion.

Meantime, Ong’s lawyer Atty. Raphael Andrada said they asked the panel of prosecutors for an extension for the submission of counter-affidavits on the human trafficking and money laundering complaints.

“We did not submit yet a counter-affidavit but we instead asked for an extension for at least a very reasonable period for us to submit a counter-affidavit given the gravity, voluminous records and complexity of both cases,” Andrada said.

In a Senate hearing last week, Guo said that despite being portrayed as one of the alleged big bosses of illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, she was a “victim.” 

"Di po ako mastermind. Masasabi ko po isa po akong victim... I think sa tagal po ng investigation, alam na rin po ng committee...who is really at the back of everything," Guo told the Senate Committee on Women.

'Isa po akong victim,' Alice Guo says as she vows tell-all in executive session

SENATORS SLAM GUO’S POSSIBLE REELECTION BID

Senator Joel Villanueva blasted Guo’s plan to run for reelection in the 2025 midterm polls.

This, after David bared his client’s plan, which Villanueva called “ridiculous”.

“While the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is constrained to accept Guo Hua Ping's Certificate of Candidacy (COC) as part of their ministerial duty, we note that there is a pending material misrepresentation case against her when she ran for Mayor in 2022, along with several cases filed by other agencies pertaining to her true identity. It would be ridiculous if she would still be allowed to run again,” Villanueva said in a statement.

“Hindi na po maitatangging pekeng Pilipino itong si Guo Hua Ping — pineke ang ginamit niyang birth certificate at maging ang kanyang mga fingerprint, napatunayan na ng National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) na pareho ang kay Guo Hua Ping at alyas Alice.”

“Isang pagbalahura at pambabastos po sa ating mga batas ang ginagawa ni Guo Hua Ping at ng kanyang mga POGO sponsors,” Villanueva added.

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, meanwhile, said that the privilege of running and serving is limited to real Filipinos.

“Ang pribilehiyong ito na nakasaad sa ating Konstitusyon ay para lamang sa ating mga kapwa at hindi kailanman maaaring ibigay sa mga pekeng Filipino,” Estrada pointed out in a statement.

He also said it is a candidate’s responsibility to give true information about himself and follow the law.

“Tungkulin din ng Commission on Elections na tiyakin na ang bawat kandidato ay sumusunod sa mga itinakdang pamantayan para masiguro na walang botanteng Filipino ang malilinlang sa kawalan ng kwalipikasyon ng kanilang mapipiling kandidato sa araw ng halalan,” Estrada added.

Comelec earlier said it had a ministerial duty to accept certificates of candidacy. 

“Wala po kaming kapangyarihan tanggihan, i-pre-evaluate o i-reject agad 'yung mga pina-file na COC,” said Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco. 

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

"Hindi po ibig sabihin na na-file 'yung COC sa amin ay garantisado na siyang kandidato. Dahil kung katulad po nitong kasong ito na mayroong mga nakabinbin na kaso bagama’t 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.

-with a report from Victoria Tulad, ABS-CBN News