Bamban mayor to snub senate invite
TARLAKENYO (July 8, 2024) — The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has started its investigation on embattled Bamban mayor Alice Guo to determine if an election offense was committed in 2022 when she filed her Certificate of Candidacy (COC).
“The committee shall determine whether there was material misrepresentation in her certificate of candidacy which would warrant the filing of an election offense case,” Garcia’s memo read. The document was dated July 6 but released only on Monday, July 8.
Guo’s COC for the 2022 elections declared that she is Filipino born in Tarlac, Tarlac.
On June 27, 2024, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) confirmed that the fingerprints of Guo and Guo Hua Ping are the same person after matching their fingerprints. Hua Ping entered the country using a Special Investor’s Resident Visa on January 12, 2003.
The COMELEC is coordinating with the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, NBI, and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) in gathering evidence. The OSG has petitioned a Tarlac court to cancel the mayor’s birth certificate.
“Kahit sampu pa ang lumabas na Alice Guo sa buong Pilipinas, si Mayor Alice Guo ng Bamban, Tarlac ang katangi-tanging Chinese citizen na naging mayor. Ang imbestigasyon ay para kay Alice Guo na hindi Filipino citizen,” Senator Risa Hontiveros said last week.
Meanwhile, the lawyers of Guo have said that she will not attend the Senate hearing on July 10, citing “trauma.”
The Senate warned the suspended mayor that they may issue an arrest warrant if she does not comply with the subpoena.
