Alice camp denies she’s Guo Hua Ping

MANILA, Philippines — The lawyer of suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo said his client has categorically denied that she is “Guo Hua Ping” who entered the Philippines on Jan. 12, 2003 as alleged by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.

“As far as Guo is concerned, first she categorically denied that she has something to do with that. She does not know that person,” the mayor’s counsel Stephen David said.

“She (Guo) is a Filipino. She was issued a Philippine passport, a number of times already. She has real estate properties, which she cannot do if she is not (a Filipino citizen),” David added.

David vowed that counter charges will be filed against those who published the supposed passport for violation of the Data Privacy Act. He did not identify those to be included in the charges.

“First there were many violations of the Data Privacy Act. We have laws protecting the rights of individuals. There were many instances where the privacy of Mayor Alice was violated. We are contemplating on filing counter charges as even the information during an executive session is made public, that’s violation of the right (of Guo), including the release of her birth certificate, that’s illegal,” he said.

Gatchalian has released a document about the supposed real identity of Guo.

The document in black and white has the word “passport” stamped on it and was issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in Fujian on April 3, 1999.

The document has control number 14-5679410 for Guo Hua Ping, a student born on Aug. 31, 1990. The document had a stamp of 2003.04.04 as the “date of registry.”

“Look at the picture, does she look like 13 years old? She looked like a mother already,” David added.

He vowed to rebut the allegations against Guo once a case is formally filed in court.

“We will answer that in the proper forum, like if it will be filed at the Office of the Ombudsman, Office of the Solicitor General. We will present our own evidence,” David said.

“We will file (charges) against those who are responsible for spreading this private data of Mayor Alice. I will also defer to the decision of the client as a lawyer,” he said.

In a separate interview with The STAR, David said that while his client knew that she has two siblings, her father Jian Zhong Guo can have other children with other women.

“She (Mayor Guo) does not know how many more siblings she has as her father has other relationships. She knew that she has two other siblings but it is possible that her father has other children. It is only her father who is aware of this,” David said on reports that Guo has a total of eight siblings.

Guo remains steadfast in her position, supported by her legitimate belief in her Filipino nationality, her significant contributions to the community and her adherence to legal requirements.

She welcomed any challenges to her nationality status, property ownership or eligibility for office in a proper forum with due consideration of her rights and the best interests of the Bamban community.

“He who alleges must prove!” Guo said in a statement.

Meanwhile, in an interview over dwPM, Gatchalian said that in the course of their investigations on Guo, the Board of Investments submitted to them the Special Investor’s Residence Visa. – Cecille Suerte Felipe