DISMISSED Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo may still run in the 2025 elections but the Commission on Elections (Comelec) may disqualify her for misrepresentation, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said yesterday.
“Alice Guo may file her certificate of candidacy, but the Comelec may disqualify her for misrepresentation and not include her name in the ballot for the May 2025 elections, unless the Comelec is restrained by the court,” Guevarra said.
Guo, who was ousted by the Ombudsman as mayor last August, is detained at the Pasig City jail facing a slew of cases.
Last Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs canceled her Philippine passport, a result of her biometrics matching those of Chinese passport holder Guo Hua Ping in the files of the National Bureau of Investigation.
Guo’s legal counsel, Stephen David, said her client will file her certificate of candidacy tomorrow, Tuesday, the last day of filing for those seeking posts in next year’s polls.
This prompted Sen. Risa Hontiveros to say that Guo was courting possible perjury charges since the information she submitted in her certificate of candidacy in 2022 was made under oath.
Guevarra said the dismissed mayor may indeed be held liable for perjury.
“If the facts stated under oath in Alice Guo’s certificate of candidacy are proven to be false, she will indeed face perjury charges,” Guevarra said.
He added the DFA’s cancellation of Guo’s passport greatly strengthened their quo warranto case against Guo.
“The cancellation of her passport affirms and reinforces the factual and legal basis for the petition for quo warranto,” Guevarra said.
The OSG filed last July 29 the quo warranto case before the Manila Regional Trial Court.
A quo warranto is a legal action against a person who “usurps, intrudes into, or unlawfully holds or exercises a public office, position, or franchise.”
