Comelec eyes election offense case vs Guo

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is mulling the filing of an election offense case against Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo for making false claims when she filed her certificate of candidacy (COC) in the 2022 polls.

“It is possible to file an election offense case based on misrepresentation (in the COC),” Comelec Chairman George Garcia said yesterday.

He said they are ready to take action against Guo.

“We are closely monitoring the developments. If the evidence warrants, yes, we will,” Garcia said.

Recent reports reveal Guo is just pretending to be a Filipino citizen but is believed to be Chinese national Guo Hua Ping.

Examination conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) showed fingerprints of Guo are identical with those of Guo Hua Ping, establishing that they are the same person.

The Comelec, however, said a disqualification case against Guo is no longer possible since she has long been proclaimed and has already assumed the post.

“Her case is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Comelec,” Garcia said.

He added if Guo decides to run again in the 2025 polls, she may face disqualification charges.

“If she files a COC again for next year’s elections, she will be vulnerable to such petitions,” said Garcia.?

Quo warranto

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has initiated quo warranto proceedings after the Senate public hearing discovered the discrepancies in Guo’s birth certificate and other official documents.

The OSG said the NBI’s findings would be used in the quo warranto case against the mayor.

“The NBI’s finding about Guo’s fingerprint was extremely useful. It’s the missing link in the puzzle,” Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said in a text message to The STAR.

Guevarra noted that the development would “surely expedite” the filing of the appropriate complaint or petition by the OSG.

When asked about the target date of filing, Guevarra said the petition may likely be filed next month. A quo warranto proceeding is a legal remedy to determine a person’s right to public office.

PAOCC raids villas 

Operatives of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) rounded up 19 foreigners during a raid at villas at the Fontana Leisure Park in Clark, Pampanga – allegedly rented out to Huang Zhiyang, Guo’s incorporator in Baofu Land Development.

Armed with a search warrant issued by Malolos City, PAOCC agents as well as operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and Special Action Force (SAF) commandos swooped down on five residential villas in the leisure park due to reports of human trafficking activities.

PAOCC executive director Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said in a message on Viber the villas were leased by Huang Zhiyang, an alleged big boss at the Zun Yuan Technology Inc., a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub in Bamban, Tarlac raided by law enforcement authorities last March.

The villas are also connected with Lin Baoying and Zhang Ruijin, whom Cruz said were convicted of money laundering in Singapore. Documents recovered in the raid also bore the name of Zhang.

“All these three foreign nationals are business associates of the embattled Bamban mayor, Alice Leal Guo,” Cruz said.

Nineteen foreigners were taken into custody and are under investigation to determine if they are involved in human trafficking activities, Cruz said.

Also taken into custody is Arnel Balagtas, a former policeman who is allegedly working as a security officer for Guo and Huang.

Cruz said at least 19 safety vaults, one of which was left open, were found in the villas. They also retrieved billing receipts under Zhang’s name.

The PAOCC will seek a court order so investigators can open the vaults and examine their contents.

CIDG director Maj. Gen. Leo Francisco said among those arrested in the raid was a Chinese national whom he did not identify.

“He is now being questioned or being investigated by the PAOCC and CIDG,” Francisco said at a news briefing yesterday.

According to the general, they received information that some of the personalities in the villas were from Lucky South 99 in Porac, Pampanga which was also raided by the authorities.

“They were able to escape Porac and they proceeded to these villas,” he said. A background investigation is underway for the Chinese national whom Francisco said is a manager of the POGO in Porac.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros expressed alarm at reports that a Chinese fugitive linked to Guo was hiding at Fontana leisure park in Pampanga.

“The POGO web is really that far-reaching. The documents recovered in Fontana are strong pieces of evidence of interlocking directorates and incorporators between the Bamban and Porac POGOs,” Hontiveros said yesterday.

“The POGO problem really is a regional and international problem,” she added.

Foreigners buying, renting farmlands

Cruz also revealed that some foreigners are allegedly attempting to control the prices of basic commodities by buying and renting lands from farmers.

Cruz made the revelation following the call of Bishop Broderick Pabillo for the government to investigate foreigners who are buying lands in Taytay, Palawan.

Apart from Palawan, Cruz said they have also monitored foreigners doing similar activities in Nueva Ecija and other provinces known for producing crops. The foreigners would rent rice lands for P80,000 to P100,000 per hectare.

Cruz said they would coordinate with the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Agrarian Reform on the matter.

‘Infallible’ science

NBI chief Jaime Santiago explained Friday how they concluded the matching of fingerprints of Alice Guo and Guo Hua Ping through dactyloscopy, the science of fingerprint identification.

“Dactyloscopy is an infallible science of identification. It does not make mistakes, as no two people, not even twins, have the same fingerprints,” Santiago said in Filipino over dzBB.

Santiago said the NBI’s comparative analysis involved fingerprints from two different periods: the 2006 alien certification of registration of Guo Hua Ping and the 2021 NBI clearance under the name Alice Guo.

“We compared the fingerprints from 2006 and 2021,” he said. “In the NBI, we don’t rely solely on pictures since photos can be altered.”

Santiago confirmed that there are records of another Alice Guo with a different photo but reiterated that their fingerprint comparison focused on the Chinese national.

“We compared the fingerprints of Hua Ping. We cannot determine if the other Alice Leal Guo with a different picture is a real person or not because the Senate only requested a fingerprint comparison,” he explained.

Santiago also revealed that the entire family of Mayor Guo has records with the NBI, but “we are not focusing on that right now.”

Strongest evidence

Hontiveros said the matching fingerprints of Alice Guo and Guo Hua Ping are the damning evidence to pin down the suspended mayor and strip her of her position for lying about being a Filipino.

The NBI confirmed on Thursday through a dactyloscopy report that the fingerprints of Guo and Ping matched, following a comparative examination conducted from June 25 to 27.

“I think this is the single strongest piece of evidence already,” Hontiveros said at a virtual press briefing yesterday. “The NBI findings are gold because it proved 100 percent that Guo Hua Ping and Alice Leal Guo are one and the same person. There is no doubt about it.”

The senator vowed to expose more about the criminal syndicate linked to Guo that is behind the illegal offshore gaming operations in Bamban, Tarlac and Porac, Pampanga.

For his part, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian insisted yesterday that “Guo Hua Ping’s mockery of Philippine laws should not be taken lightly.”

“People like her who think they can buy Filipino citizenship should be severely punished. We will not stop until no more ‘Alice Guo’ slips through and escapes the law,” Gatchalian said.

“The matching fingerprints as confirmed by the NBI affirm what we have suspected for so long that Alice Guo is Guo Hua Ping and in fact a Chinese citizen,” he said.

For former senator Leila de Lima, a warrantless arrest should be implemented against Alice Guo or Guo Hua Ping for stealing an identity, based on the NBI findings.

“The Bureau of Immigration (BI) could arrest Guo for serious violations of her visa conditions,” De Lima said.

“The immediate legal remedy against her is a warrantless arrest by the BI for serious violations of her visa conditions, and detention at the immigration deportation facilities pending her trial for the multiple criminal offenses she has committed,” De Lima added. — Ric Sapnu, Emmanuel Tupas, Mark Ernest Villeza, Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Nillicent Bautista