For being a Chinese national, the proclamation of Alice L. Guo as mayor of Bamban, Tarlac should be declared “null and void,” the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) said.
In a petition for quo warranto, the OSG told the Manila regional trial court (RTC) that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) conducted a dactyloscopy or examination of the fingerprints of Guo which showed that she is Chinese national Guo Hua Ping.
“Given the accuracy of the scientific analysis of thumbmarks, the Supreme Court has held that ‘[t]humbmarks never lie’,” it pointed out.
The OSG also said “there is no credible official record or document establishing that respondent Guo Hua Ping is a citizen of the Philippines, either by birth or by naturalization.”
It cited that various government records show that Guo Hua Ping is the daughter of Chinese nationals Lin Wenyi and Guo Jian Zhong.
“After coordination with the relevant government agencies, there is reason to conclude that neither respondent Guo Hua Ping nor her parents have acquired Philippine citizenship through the process of naturalization either under Republic Act No. 9139 or Commonwealth Act No. 473,” the OSG said.
Citing records, the OSG noted that Guo Hua Ping is a holder of Chinese passport and was born on Aug. 31, 1990 in Fujian, China.
Even if Alice Guo is qualified to run as mayor, the OSG stressed “she, nonetheless, committed Serious Dishonesty, which warrants her removal from office.”
The OSG said the Rules of Court allows it to file a quo warranto petition when there is “an act which, by the provision of law, constitutes a ground for the forfeiture of his office.”
A quo warranto “is a special civil action brought in the name of the Philippines against a person who usurps, intrudes into, or unlawfully holds or exercises a public office….”
“Relevantly, dishonesty is one of the grounds specifically enumerated under Section 60 of RA 7160 (the Local Government Code), which warrants the removal of a public officer from office,” it cited.
It told the RTC that “respondent Guo Hua Ping’s serious dishonesty arises from her act of representing herself as ‘Alice Leal Guo’ in all her public and private dealings – a name that is different from the name she registered with the BI (Bureau of Immigration) upon her entry in the Philippines.”
“Indeed, one of the paramount, yet most basic, requirements for local elective office is Filipino citizenship. Thus, the Supreme Court, in cases too numerous to mention, has emphasized that only Filipinos who owe total and undivided allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines could run for and hold elective public office,” the OSG said.
“In this case, respondent Guo Hua Ping is ineligible to be voted for and elected as Mayor of Bamban, Tarlac. Hence, her continuous discharge of the duties, powers, and responsibilities of the Office of Mayor of Bamban, Tarlac is tantamount to usurpation of such office,” it added.
The OSG said that RA 7260 provides: “An elective local official must be a citizen of the Philippines; a registered voter in the barangay, municipality, city, or province or, in the case of a member of the sangguniang panlalawigan, sangguniang panlungsod, or sangguniang bayan, the district where he intends to be elected; a resident therein for at least one (1) year immediately preceding the day of the election; and able to read and write Filipino or any other local language or dialect.”
With the provisions in the law, the OSG asked the RTC to declare Guo “ineligible to hold the Office of Mayor of Bamban, Tarlac” and have her proclamation to the elective position declared “null and void.”
Mayor Guo has been suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman on criminal and administrative charges filed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
She and several other persons have also been charged ciminally before the Department of Justice (DO) with non-bailable qualified trafficking in persons.
The DOJ's panel of prosecutors has started the preliminary investigation of the charges.