Comelec formally files material misrepresentation raps vs. Alice Guo

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday has formally filed charges against dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo for allegedly committing material misrepresentation in her candidacy in the 2022 election.

In an information filed 26 October, the Comelec accused Guo or Hua Ping Lin Guo for violating Section 74 of the Omnibus Election Code when she filed her certificate of candidacy despite being a Chinese citizen.

"That on or about 1 October, 2021, and during the period for the filing of Certificates of Candidacy in connection with the 9 May, 2022 National and Local Elections in the Municipality of Bamban, Province of Tarlac, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the accused Alice Leal Guo/Hua Ping Lin Guo, did then and there, willfully and unlawfully, commit material misrepresentation by filing her Certificate of Candidacy for the position of Mayor of the Municipality of Bamban, Province of Tarlac, and declaring under oath that she is eligible for the position she seeks to be elected, when in truth and in fact, she is a Chinese citizen and a resident of Fujian, China,” the poll body said.

The charges were filed before the Tarlac Regional Trial Court.

In a message to reporters, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said the poll body is expected the Court to “issue the corresponding warrant of arrest immediately.”

The Senate launched an investigation into Guoin May after a raid in March by law enforcers on a casino in Bamban, uncovered what they said were scams run from a facility built on land Guo partly owned.

Guo is facing charges for graft, qualified human trafficking, money laundering, and tax evasion for her alleged involvement in the Philippines Offshore Gaming Operator hub in her town.

She was dimissed from her post as Bamban mayor in August.

Guo was deported from Indonesia on 6 September after being arrested by Indonesia authorities on 4 September.

The Department of Foreign Affairs canceled the Philippine passport of Guo in September after the biometric data of Guo in the agency’s passport database matched those of “Guo Hua Ping,” a Chinese.