COMELEC: OSG petition vs Guo ‘huge help’ in possible poll case

Metro Manila, Philippines – A petition by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to cancel the birth certificate of suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo is a big help in the filing of a possible election offense complaint, Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairman George Garcia said on Saturday.

In an interview with NewsWatch Plus, Garcia said the petition would help prove a case of misrepresentation in the 2022 polls.

“Kukuha kami ng kopya hihingi kami sa opisina ng OSG ng kanilang petition to cancel the birth certificate. Sa’ming palagay medyo malaking bentahe na yun. Mukhang may ebidensya na doon. Pero syempre hindi pwedeng doon lang kami magre-rely sa ebidensyang meron ang Solicitor General,” he told NewsWatch Plus.

(Translation: We will secure a copy of the OSG petition to cancel Mayor Guo’s birth certificate. We believe it’s a great advantage for the case. There could be evidence there. But of course, we can’t just rely on the evidence of OSG.)

The OSG filed the petition with the Tarlac Regional Trial Court on July 5, citing the mayor’s failure to comply with requirements for late birth registration.

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said the petition may lay the groundwork to file a quo warranto case that may remove Guo as mayor of Bamban. A quo warranto case questions the authority of public officials to hold office.

Garcia said he has ordered the COMELEC law department to conduct its own fact-finding probe on Guo, the results of which may come out in two weeks.

“Kasama sa instruction ng law department na magpa-conduct ng technical examination ng fingerprints at ikumpara doon sa fingerprints na meron ang NBI,” Garcia said.

(Translation: Included in our instruction to our law department to conduct a technical examination of fingerprints and compare it with the NBI findings.)

Garcia said violators of elections laws may face a jail time of three to six years.

Guo is at the center of a Senate probe over her alleged links to illegal operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) in Tarlac. She had denied this, including claims that she is a spy for China.

Guo is facing criminal complaints linked to human trafficking and graft.