Gatchalian lauds Manila court ruling on Alice Guo: 'She was never qualified to hold public office'
At A Glance
- "The court ruling...validates what we've long been saying, that she was never qualified to hold public office," said Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday, June 29, welcomed the ruling of the Manila court affirming that dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo is a Chinese national.
This after the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 24 granted the Office of the Solicitor General’s instant petition for quo warranto which declared Guo’s appointment and entire mayoral term as void.
“The court ruling affirming that Alice Guo is a Chinese national and finding her guilty of usurping and exercising the Office of the Bamban Mayor validates what we’ve long been saying that she was never qualified to hold public office,” said Gatchalian in a statement.
“Still, the government must rigorously pursue all cases against her and hold her accountable for her illicit activities,” the senator added.
“She should also be prohibited from owning land,” he further said.
In the decision dated June 27, Manila RTC judge Liwliwa Bidalgo-Bucu said Chinese citizen Guo Hua Ping and Alice Leal Guo are the same person.
The former mayor argued that the decision is already moot since the Office of the Ombudsman had ordered her dismissal last August 2024.
Guo was dismissed for alleged grave misconduct following her involvement in a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO) hub in Bamban, Tarlac.
Currently, Guo is detained at the Pasig City Jail Female Dormitory, following her transfer from Camp Crame as ordered by the court.
Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means and who led an investigation into the illegal and sinister operations of POGO hubs, reiterated his call for the government to also go after the personalities who helped Guo.
“I also urge the government to go after those who aided and protected her,” the lawmaker said.
“Hindi na dapat maulit na magamit ng dayuhan ang ating gobyerno para sa pansariling interes (Foreigners should never again be allowed to use our government for their own personal interests),” he stressed.