The Commission on Elections has submitted a copy of the certificate of candidacy of Bamban Mayor Alice Guo to the Senate panel on women chaired by Sen. Risa Hontiveros as part of an ongoing investigation into Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).

Hontiveros has questioned the background of Guo, who only registered as a voter in 2021 and won the mayoral election in 2022 despite having no background in politics.

House eyes parallel probe into Bamban Mayor Alice Guo

Speaking to TeleRadyo Serbisyo, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said his office submitted a copy of Guo’s COC to Hontiveros upon the latter’s request.

He reiterated Guo was able to run for mayor because no one questioned her certificate of candidacy before Comelec or the regional trial court before the May 2022 elections.

Garcia cited the need for stricter laws on certificates of candidacy, saying the Comelec’s role in accepting the COCs is purely ministerial. 

“Dapat gawing hindi ministerial ang duty namin, we have the right to refuse to accept the certificate of candidacy or at the same time magrequire tayo na maglakip ng mga dokumento na magpapatunay sa mga deklarasyon nila. Age, halimbawa, sabi niya siya ay 21 years of age para maging mayor. E di dapat po ay I-require ‘yung paglalakip ng birth certificate,” he said.

“Kung sinabi na siya ay Filipino citizen o kaya ay natural-born citizen, ano pa ang mga dokumento na nagpapatunay na siya ay citizen ng Pilipinas. Pwede pong i-require ‘yun.”

He pointed out that under the current law, the only way to countercheck a COC is to investigate possible misrepresentation in the COC since it is done under oath. Any misrepresentation in a candidate’s COC can lead to a perjury charge, he said.

Hontiveros earlier said Guo could be a Chinese citizen after the mayor’s Senate testimony raised several red flags: she did not have school records because she was home schooled but could not provide the name of her home school provider.

Hontiveros questions nationality of Bamban mayor linked to POGOs

Guo’s birth was only registered when she was 17 years old. 

Her birth certificate said her father’s nationality is Filipino but the mayor admitted that her father’s real name is “Jian Zhong Guo' and Angelito Guo is just his Filipino name.

Hontiveros emphasized that it is important to determine Guo's nationality because of her possible links to POGOs in the Baofu compound.