BAMBAN, Tarlac -- Mayor Alice Guo did not make any public appearance on May 14.

The local official became controversial after being linked to a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO), and for allegedly having questionable citizenship.

But in a copy of her Certificate of Candidacy (COC) sent by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, the mayor's full name was indicated as "Alice Leal Guo", "35 years old", with residence/address in "Bamban, Tarlac", where she is also a registered voter.

On the lower portion of the document, Guo certified some clauses including "I am a Filipino citizen", "I am not a permanent resident of, or an immigrant to, a foreign country", and "I executed a sworn renunciation of foreign citizenship (if applicable)".

In her Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE), Guo said she spent more than P134,000 for her campaign.

She did not declare any contributions from a political party or other sources, especially since she ran as an independent candidate.

ON DISQUALIFICATION, PARALLEL PROBE

Bamban has a total of 45,008 registered voters in 2022, based on data from the Comelec and the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group.

Guo needed only over 16,000 votes from these to be catapulted to her post.

In the results of the 2022 elections, Guo's lead over her opponent Joey Salting was less than 500 votes, at 16,503 and 16,035, respectively.

Salting is now the captain of Brgy. Anupul and ex-officio Board Member of Tarlac province.

Comelec Chairperson Atty. George Garcia said Guo became a registered voter in April 2021 - a year and one month before the elections.

"Ang tanong, paano siya nakapagparehistro noong April 2021 o isang taon at isang buwan bago ang 2022 election? Wala po nagpo-post, wala po nagkwestyon sa kanyang application for registration. Kaya po iyong election registration board ng Municipality ng Bamban ay nag-approve po ng application for registration. Ibig sabihin ay hindi po ito naging issue....Sa pagfi-file ng Certificate of Candidacy... ang duty po namin ay ministerial... Basta po na-accomplish iyong Certificate of Candidacy form at ito po'y pinanumpaan tatanggapin po namin iyan," Garcia told Teleradyo Serbisyo.

"Wala po kaming discretion to refuse to accept the Certificate of Candidacy. Maliban na lang kung pwede naming i-declare na nuisance candidate... Pero pagka ang pinag-uusapan ay age, citizenship, residency at registration bilang botante at kasama po ang pagiging literate, iyan po ay hindi kaya at hindi motu poprio ng komisyon," he added.

Garcia explained that, according to the law, a registered voter should first file a cancellation of candidacy or a petition for disqualification.

"Hindi po namin kilala ang lahat ng kandidato sa buong Pilipinas... Hindi po required na mag-attach, maglakip ng kahit anong dokumento sa COC... Minsan po tinry ng Comelec na mag-require ng certificate na ikaw ay hindi drug addict, iyon po ay idineklarang unconstitutional ng Korte Suprema," he said.

The House of Representatives plans to conduct a parallel investigation, which will cover aspects not addressed by the Senate's investigation into Guo.

"Paano nakakuha ng birth certificate at iyong kwestiyunableng citizenship din ni Mayor Alice Guo... This will be tackled as soon as possible... Most likely even after adjournment, if permitted by the House leadership, there will be an investigation," said Rep. Jil Bongalon, vice chairperson of the House Committee on Ethics, in an interview with Teleradyo Serbisyo.

"This concerns national security as far as I am concerned dahil nakikita natin na talagang medyo kwestyonable ang nagiging citizenship po ni Mayor Alice Guo and surrounding facts on how she was able to acquire this citizenship," he added.

Meanwhile, 167 Chinese nationals caught in the raided POGO in Bamban have been deported back to China.

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said it continues to meet with their counterparts in China to put a stop to the entry of illegal activities into the country.