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SolGen asks court to oust Guo fr mayor’s post
By Nidz Godino
“Her continuous discharge of duties, powers and responsibilities of Office of Mayor of Bamban, Tarlac is tantamount to usurpation of such office,” Office of the Solicitor General is seeking removal from office of suspended Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo on grounds she is Chinese national and has misrepresented herself as Filipino citizen “to advance her fraudulent schemes.”
OSG on July 29 filed quo warranto petition against Guo before Manila regional trial court, asking it to declare Guo’s proclamation as Bamban mayor null and void and for her to be ousted from post.
OSG also asked court to declare Guo as ineligible to hold office of the mayor of Bamban and to declare her to have committed acts that warrant her forfeiture.
In its 45-page petition, OSG argued that Guo, named in the petition as Guo Hua Ping a.k.a Alice Leal Guo, is not true Filipino citizen and is thus ineligible to be voted for and elected as Bamban mayor.
OSG also cited various government records stating that Guo is Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, who is daughter of two Chinese citizens, Lin Wenyi and Guo Jian Zhong.
Guo Hua Ping is holder of Chinese passport and was born on Aug. 31, 1990 in Fujian, China, OSG stressed.
“There is no credible official record or document establishing that respondent Guo Hua Ping is citizen of the Philippines, either by birth or by naturalization,” it said.
In early July, OSG filed petition before Tarlac trial court seeking to cancel Guo’s birth certificate on grounds of her failure to comply with legal requirements of late birth registration.
Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said hearing on petition is set on Sept. 18.
Team from Commission on Elections (Comelec) is going to Tarlac today to check on record of Mayor Guo. “We’ll proceed to Mabalacat and Bamban,” Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiango said, adding scheduled visit of Comelec officials to Tarlac was deferred for few days because of typhoon.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia previously would be going to Comelec office in Tarlac to personally check record of Guo there.
They would look into signature and fingerprints Guo that was submitted to Comelec when she registered as voter and when she filed her certificate of candidacy.
National Bureau of Investigation director Jaime Santiago said manhunt to locate Guo is being conducted by NBI agents from Region 3 and by intelligence unit from NBI’s headquarters.
“We have ongoing manhunt operation, our men are doing their best,” Santiago said in response to Senate Pro Tempore Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s plea to NBI and Philippine National Police to arrest Guo.
Estrada has given law enforcers two more weeks to arrest Guo, warning that their 2025 budgets could be affected if she is not apprehended.
The senator noted that Senate issued arrest order against Guo on July 11, but she remains at large. NBI reported to Senate that Guo was seen in Bulacan before her arrest order was issued.
During Senate investigation into raided Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hubs, NBI assistant director Angelito Magno said although there were sightings, team found no trace of Guo at the locations.
NBI Cybercrime Group is trying to locate Guo’s IP address after she posted statements on Facebook.
Col. Jun Mark Lagare from PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said tracker team has been assigned to find Guo, but no updates have been provided to Senate committee.
Having families in the Philippines does not exempt foreign workers employed at POGOs and internet gaming licenses (IGL) from leaving the country, Bureau of Immigration said.
BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said these foreign workers cannot change status of their stay in the country that would entitle them to extend their stay in the Philippines.
“This is the limitation of their stay here…since operations of their companies have been downgraded, they would have to leave the country…they could no longer extend further, they could no longer convert it to any other type of visa,” Sandoval said .
At present, POGO and IGL workers are holders of working visas. “As of now, we do not have room for any adjustments in the procedure…they would have to leave the country,” she said.
In his third SONA on July 22, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.ordered POGOs to be banned and gave them until end of the year to wind down operations.
Senate investigation on POGOs could not be terminated yet unless those responsible for heinous torture operations are identified, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said during continuation of Senate hearing on alleged scamming and human trafficking in Clark POGOs.
“To be honest, I want to close this hearing but we can’t close this hearing when we haven’t fully determined who is responsible for these heinous operations that brought torture to our countrymen,” Hontiveros noted.
She received information that POGOs are leaving the country and moving to Cambodia after operating in the country for several years.
For Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, Guo, who snubbed Senate hearing for third time, should be slapped with charges of disobedience to summons issued by Congress.
Apart from Guo, Senate has also ordered arrest of Siemen Guo, Wesley Guo, Sheila Guo, the supposed mother Wen Yi Lin and Dennis Cunanan after they failed to appear in the Senate investigation related to the illegal POGO in Bamban, Tarlac and Porac in Pampanga.
Nancy Gamo, alleged accountant of Guo, was ordered released from Senate custody after she cooperated in yesterday’s resumption of Senate investigation on illegal POGOs. She spent over two weeks in Senate custody after her arrest at her Caloocan home on July 13.
Former presidential spokesman Harry Roque was reminded to mind his manners during Senate probe on his alleged links to illegal POGOs.
Roque attended resumption of the Senate probe in defiant mood, presenting documents to show that he did not lawyer for raided POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga, Lucky South 99.
Roque maintained he merely served as counsel for Whirlwind Corp., owned property where Lucky South 99 is located.
He talked over Hontiveros’ questioning as he reminded Senate committee of its own rules about presenting allegations without evidence and witnesses.
Roque also accused Hontiveros of “insinuating” that he lawyered for illegal POGO and of interrupting him in his testimonies during hearing.
“I am invited resource person… I do not understand that whenever I am asked to answer, I will be asked to stop in my testimony… I thought we were engaged in search for the truth?” Roque said.
This prompted Hontiveros and Gatchalian to remind him that he could be cited in contempt for being disrespectful in schooling senators about their jobs.
“Attorney, please stop using that offensive word ‘insinuating…’ I am very plain speaker. you don’t need to tell committee what rules of the Senate are…it is not necessary,” Hontiveros said.
“Please be reminded to respect the chairperson,” Gatchalian said, to which Roque answered: “I am very respectful.”
“Is that respectful, that you are talking over the chairperson as she is speaking…one more, and I will cite you in contempt…do not talk over presiding chairperson,” Gatchalian said.
Roque apologized for his actions and was spared from being ordered to spend night in Senate detention.
During hearing, he also denied owning house in Benguet where two foreign POGO employees were apprehended over the weekend. Two are suspected to be Chinese fugitives wanted for criminal activities in China.
But Roque owned some shares in company linked to firm that owns house. He also admitted staying in the house in the past.
ISKUP! 