Comelec submits Bamban mayor Alice Guo's 2022 candidacy docs to Senate panel

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has submitted to the Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) and Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) of Bamban mayor Alice Guo.

The documents submitted by the poll body last May 10 via e-mail were shared to the media by the Senate panel on Tuesday.

According to her COC, the 37-year old Guo declared Tarlac, Tarlac as her place of birth.

Guo stated in her COC that at the day before the May 9 elections, she has been living in the Philippines for 35 years and two months and she has been living in the municipality of Bamban, Tarlac for 18 years and two months.

The mayor also signed the declaration that she is a Filipino citizen; and she is not a permanent resident of or an immigrant to a foreign country.

In her SOCE, Guo declared a total of P134,693.80 for her mayoralty bid. The big chunks of which were spent for the travel expenses of the candidate and her personnel and the incidental personal expenses, amounting to P85,047.80. She also spent P39,646 for printing and distribution of printed materials.

It was also indicated in the SOCE that Guo did not receive any contributions whether in kind or cash from other sources since she did not run under a political party but as an independent.

To recall, the Senate panel, which investigates the raided POGO hub in Bamban, Tarlac, has requested the Comelec to provide Guo's COC and SOCE due to questions on her rise to political arena even without a political background.

Senator Risa Hontiveros earlier questioned Guo's identity, saying the mayor has no official records to prove she is a Filipino, and went as far as to ask whether the official was a Chinese citizen.

At a news conference a day after a Senate inquiry on the raid of the POGO compound in Bamban, Hontiveros said Guo lied when the mayor denied any connection with Hongsheng Gaming Technology, Inc.

According to Hontiveros, Guo's name only floated during the 2022 elections despite the latter having no hospital record of birth and no school records in the Philippines.

The senator noted that Guo only has a certificate of live birth, wherein it was declared that her father is a Filipino. However, Hontiveros said business records show that Guo's father declared that he is a Chinese national.

It was later learned that Guo's registration of live birth was only filed when she was already 17 years old.

The 37-year old mayor cast doubts as to her identity during the hearing by claiming she has forgotten or has no knowledge of her personal details.

On Monday, Comelec chairman George Garcia said Guo may face perjury charges if proven that she misdeclared herself as a Filipino citizen.

According to Garcia, the Comelec only requires aspiring candidates to submit a certificate of candidacy, in which they declare that they are Filipino citizens.

The poll body presumes the declaration of aspiring candidates is true until a disqualification or cancellation of candidacy case is filed by a registered voter, he added.—RF, GMA Integrated News