Alice Guo’s Philippine passport —BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION PHOTO
The Division of International Affairs (DFA) has canceled the Philippine passport of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo after investigations confirmed that it was “fraudulently acquired.”
The DFA on Friday stated that based mostly on the certification issued by the Nationwide Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Aug. 24, the biometric knowledge of Guo within the company’s passport database matched these of “Guo Hua Ping,” a Chinese language nationwide. The cancellation took impact on Sept. 30.
“The DFA is dedicated to upholding the safety and integrity of issuing Philippine passports and assures the general public that fraudulent utility and acquisition of passports are referred to regulation enforcement companies for investigation and prosecution,” the DFA stated in a press release.
READ: Alice Guo loses cool after Home reveals docu on Chinese language spy
“The DFA enforces zero tolerance coverage for unscrupulous people circumventing the Philippine passport utility and issuance procedures,” the company added.
The Workplace of the Ombudsman earlier dismissed Guo from authorities service and perpetually disqualified her from holding public workplace for grave misconduct attributable to her alleged involvement within the operations of a raided Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) in her city.
READ: Alice Guo ‘movie star’ selfies spark public outrage
COC submitting
This growth got here as Stephen David, Guo’s lawyer, instructed reporters that the previous official will “positively” run for mayor of Bamban within the 2025 elections. Guo is detained within the Pasig Metropolis Jail for a professional human trafficking cost.
In keeping with David, Guo is assured that her authorized battles is not going to hinder her probabilities of regaining her seat in Bamban.
READ: TIMELINE: The place did she ‘Guo’? Alice Guo’s story and escape
Guo, he stated, will file her certificates of candidacy (COC) on Oct. 8, the final day of submitting for nationwide and native candidates collaborating in subsequent yr’s polls. The lawyer, nonetheless, stated Guo’s camp had but to resolve on how the COC can be filed.
“Proper now, there’s a number of damaging publicity, many are sympathizing, however she has additionally finished good issues for the city of Bamban. There are nonetheless many who love her,” David stated.
READ: Alice Guo, over 30 others sued for cash laundering
Guo can also be going through a case filed by the Workplace of the Solicitor Normal earlier than the Tarlac Regional Trial Courtroom in search of to cancel her start certificates.
Biometric proof
However David stated: “It’s a protracted course of. Will or not it’s canceled? She is a Filipina. There’s no courtroom, as of now, that has dominated that she’s not Filipino.”
At the very least three senators on Friday conceded that the Fee on Elections (Comelec) is “constrained” to simply accept Guo’s COC, however they reminded the ballot physique of its responsibility to cease foreigners pretending to be Filipinos from becoming a member of the nation’s electoral course of.
Sen. Joel Villanueva stated the NBI and different state companies had offered biometric proof supposedly proving that Guo’s actual id is “Guo Hua Ping,” a Chinese language who entered the nation in 2003.
Villanueva additionally famous that the Comelec had already filed a case for materials misrepresentation towards Guo for working for public workplace in 2022.
“It might be ridiculous if she would nonetheless be allowed to run once more,” he instructed reporters in a Viber message on Friday.
“You can’t deny that ‘Guo Hua Ping’ is a faux Filipino who used a faux start certificates … Guo and her Pogo sponsors are mocking and disrespecting our legal guidelines.” Villanueva added.
Senate President Professional Tempore Jinggoy Estrada stated the Comelec should be sure that each candidate collaborating within the 2025 midterm elections would adjust to the necessities for these in search of elective posts.
“[The Comelec] ought to guarantee that no voters shall be fooled by candidates who lack {qualifications},” Estrada stated.
Senate Minority Chief Aquilino Pimentel III, a lawyer, agreed that Guo may nonetheless be allowed to run since her legal circumstances, together with the difficulty over her citizenship, had been nonetheless pending in courts.
Obligation-bound
“[But her] current legal circumstances can be utilized as political points [against her] in the course of the marketing campaign,” Pimentel stated.
Guo, who fled the nation on July 18 and was arrested in Indonesia on Sept. 4, can also be going through fees of graft and corruption, cash laundering and tax evasion, amongst others.
The Comelec stated it was duty-bound to simply accept COCs filed by political aspirants.
“The responsibility of the Comelec is merely to obtain the COC, simply so long as the shape is full, correctly completed, notarized and with documentary stamp. We don’t have the discretion of rejecting the submitting of a COC,” Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia stated in a tv interview on Friday.
Nonetheless, whether or not the identify of any aspirant will seem on the official poll is a special matter, he stated.
Clarifying that his remark was not directed at any particular candidate, Garcia stated any candidate, upon petition by a 3rd occasion or by Comelec performing motu proprio (by itself), could also be declared a nuisance candidate or could also be disqualified for different causes below the regulation.
The Comelec, he stated, can also cancel the COC of a candidate whom the Ombudsman had penalized administratively, together with being disqualified from holding any public workplace.
Garcia stated such disqualification, even when appealed, is straight away executory until restrained by a better tribunal, such because the Courtroom of Appeals.
“We’ve a decision [in Comelec] stating that the choice of the Ombudsman in administrative circumstances is straight away executory though it might be topic to attraction and never but remaining. That’s the reason the Comelec, in compliance with the regulation and in recognition of the powers of the Workplace of the Ombudsman, will instantly implement the [penalty of perpetual disqualification],” he stated.
Any candidate charged with against the law stays eligible to run for public workplace till there may be remaining judgment or conviction, Garcia stated in a separate radio interview.
“Till there may be conviction, even when [the candidate] is behind bars, he can run, extra so when his case continues to be on attraction. Once more, we’ve no selection however to simply accept everybody’s COC. Our responsibility is ministerial for the meantime, our discretion comes later,” he stated.
Authorized battle
Solicitor Normal Menardo Guevarra additionally stated that Guo may nonetheless file her COC since not one of the circumstances towards her had attained finality.
“The Comelec is duty-bound to simply accept Guo’s certificates of candidacy, until it later disqualifies Guo for some legitimate cause. In the end although, it’s the citizens who will resolve if Alice Guo deserves to carry public workplace,” Guevarra stated in a textual content message despatched to reporters on Friday.
David stated they filed a movement for reconsideration on the Ombudsman’s resolution to dismiss Guo and had been ready to exhaust their authorized treatment as much as the Supreme Courtroom.
“She must run to actually present her love for the individuals, particularly for Bamban. If the individuals there actually need her, they need to be those to guage; the individuals ought to resolve whether or not she is worthy to carry workplace of their space. What’s occurring is simply technicalities—she’s not being allowed to run, she’s being disqualified. However that’s not remaining but,” David stated.
When requested, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla stated the DOJ would oppose Guo’s candidacy.
“I wouldn’t say it’s her proper however she will be able to strive. I wouldn’t say it’s her proper as a result of she’s not Filipino and she or he bears falsified paperwork,” Remulla instructed reporters.
In the meantime, Guo’s eight coaccused within the human trafficking case had been transferred to the Pasig Metropolis Jail from the Tarlac Provincial Jail on Thursday.
Jail Superintendent Jayrex Bustinera, spokesperson for the Bureau of Jail Administration and Penology, recognized the coaccused as Walter Wong Lengthy, Shicong Zhang, Huang Yue Hai, Ma The Pong, Wang Weili, Wuli Dong, Nong Ding Chang and Lang Xu Po. —WITH A REPORT FROM NESTOR CORRALES INQ
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