Alice Guo  

An election offense case will be added to the string of cases that dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo is facing after the Commision on Elections (Comelec) resolved to adopt the recommendation of its law department to file a material representation charge against her.

Earlier, Comelec Chairman George Garcia announced that the law department's fact-finding body had recommended the filing of a motu proprio election offense case against Guo for allegedly committing material misrepresentation in her certificate of candidacy (COC) back in the 2022 national and local polls.

"The Department finds sufficient factual basis to proceed with the preliminary investigation and, thus, respectfully recommends that this Department be directed to file a motu proprio complaint and conduct a preliminary investigation against Mayor Alice Guo/Guo Hua Ping for material misrepresentation," said Garcia in quoting the recommendation of the panel.

A subpoena was issued directing Guo to personally file her counter-affidavit to the motu propio complaint filed last Aug. 8.

In her counter-affidavit, Guo raised that the filing of the instant case was premature as well as the lack of her authentication in the comparative examinations conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

The Comelec law department stated that based on the evidence presented, including the dactyloscopy report from the NBI revealing matching fingerprint patterns, as well as the Comelec’s Election Records and Statistics Department's signature examination report and dactyloscopy report, there were significant similarities in the signature and fingerprint specimens of the respondent and Hua Ping Lin Guo. 

"Withal, it is clear from the evidence presented by Complainant that there is a sufficient ground to believe that Respondent committed material misrepresentation in violation of section 74 of the OEC with section 262 of the same Code, when she declared in her COC that is a Filipino citizen and a resident of Bamban, Tarlac when in truth and in fact, she is not," it added.

With this, the law department found probable cause and recommended the filing of the case before the court against the respondent.

"The Commission resolved, as it hereby resolves, to adopt the recommendation of the Law Department to the filing of information against respondent Alice Leal Guo/Hua Ping before the proper Regional Trial Court for violation of Section 74 in relation to Section 262 of the Omnibus Election Code," it said.