Dismissed mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, Alice Guo attends a Senate hearing, Sept. 9, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The Commission on Elections said Monday it could block Alice Guo from running again for mayor of Bamban, Tarlac. 

Guo, who is detained over charges related to illegal gambling hubs, will file her certificate of candidacy (COC) this week through a representative, her lawyer Stephen David earlier said.

While the poll body has a “ministerial duty” to accept Guo’s COC, it can disqualify candidates who were previously dismissed from duty by the Office of the Ombudsman, Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia said. 

The Ombudsman in August dismissed Guo for grave misconduct and banned her reentering government service. 

“Pagkatapos mai-file [ang kaniyang COC] saka namin pwedeng i-cancel, pwede siyang i-disqualify base sa mga umiiral na mga patakaran o yun mga kinakaharap niyang problema,” Garcia told TeleRadyo Serbisyo. 

“Mayroon kaming inilabas na resolution dalawang linggo na ang nakakalipas, sinabi namin sa resolution na ‘yan ang mga opisyal ng pamahalaan na dinismiss, tinanggal sa pwesto at may nakalagay na perpetually disqualified to hold public office ay amin kaagad tatanggalin kapag nag-file ng certificates of candidacy,” he added. 

Comelec to rule on Alice Guo's case before Oct. 30

Even if a candidate appeals the disqualification, it could be implemented immediately without a temporary restraining order from a court, Garcia noted. 

“Iyan ay bilang pagkilala sa kapangyarihan ng Ombudsman, sa kanilang tungkulin. Nasa batas po kasi yan: …ang desisyon ng Ombudsman ay immediately executory at final,” he said. 

Only court can stop Guo from running for Bamban mayor again — lawyer

'PEOPLE DECIDE THEIR POLITICAL FATE'

Meanwhile, election lawyer Romulo Macalintal argued that the poll body's power to cancel a COC is "limited to final conviction in criminal cases with the accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification and was never applied to administrative cases decided by the Ombudsman while pending appeal."

"While decisions of the Ombudsman may be executory, the accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification is not yet final when the dismissed public official appeals the Ombudsman decision to the Court of Appeals," he said.

"In other words, pending appeal, the accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification is not yet imposable and could not yet be enforced."

Guo's lawyer Stephen David on Saturday said his client can still run for reelection unless a court says otherwise.

Macalintal  pointed out that no provision under the Omnibus Election Code or the Local Government Code provides that a candidate penalized by an administrative case is automatically disqualified from running for public office pending an appeal of the said decision.

Macalintal cited Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, who, without seeking to reward corrupt public officials, said "they are still subject to competitive and recurring democratic elections wherein the people decide their political fate."

"In cases where the sovereignty of the people is at stake, we must not only be legally right but also politically correct,"  former Chief Justice Reynato Puno said, Macalintal added.

Comelec aims to finalize the list of candidates around December 13 and start printing ballots before the end of the year, Garcia said.     

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

In a Senate hearing in late September, 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.