The Bureau of Immigration on Wednesday confirmed the legitimacy of documents obtained by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, which alleged that Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo is not a Filipino national.

“We are confirming this document, which was sent by the Bureau of Immigration. We obtained it from the Board of Investments as part of their records for Hua Ping Guo’s visa application,” BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said in an interview.

Gatchalian alleged that the embattled local chief executive’s real name is Hua Ping Guo, a Chinese national.

Sandoval confirmed that Hua Ping Guo previously held an investor's visa in the Philippines but was canceled in 2011.

In a separate interview, Gatchalian reiterated that he is convinced that Mayor Guo and Huang Ping Guo are the same person.

“Wenyi Lin is her mother, as stated in her application, and their address is the same in Valenzuela, as indicated in the incorporation papers and the special investor's resident visa,” he said.

“Guo Hua Ping arrived here at 13 years old but has no birth records to show. They lied on the birth certificate,” he added.

He continued: “Their way to Filipino citizenship was through a fake birth certificate. The father lied, claiming he was Filipino and that Amelia Leal was also Filipino, therefore making Alice Guo Filipino. When you look at the story, it becomes clear why the birth certificate was forged."

Ready to face proceedings

In response to the newest allegation against her, Guo’s camp said the local chief executive is “prepared to address these allegations fully and transparently.”

“She even stressed the point that ‘he who alleges must prove! Kung sino ang nag-aakusa ay siya ang magpatunay,’” the mayor’s camp said in a statement.

“Mayor Guo asserts her Filipino citizenship based on her birthright, cultural ties, and continuous residency in the Philippines. Her belief in her Filipino identity has been consistent, supported by her active participation in local business and community life as well as the people she interacts with,” they added.

The mayor’s camp also stood by their claims that Guo is a Filipino national through her Filipino mother, whom she claimed abandoned her after she was born.

“Legal defenses for her nationality include birthright citizenship having been born by a FILIPINO mother out of wedlock and the recognition of Filipino citizenship by Philippine authorities, including the issuance of a birth certificate and a Philippine passport, among others,” the statement read.

During the Senate hearing last month, senators learned that Mayor Guo’s biological parents, Angelito Guo and Amelia Leal were registered as Filipinos on her birth certificate.

In an exclusive television interview, the embattled local chief executive claimed that she was a love child of her Chinese father to their Filipino helper.

However, documents shown during the hearing revealed that Guo’s biological parents have two other children, Shiela and Seimen, which the latter confirmed.

Guo also admitted that her father, whose real name was Jian Zhong Guo, was not a Filipino but a Chinese citizen holding a Chinese passport.