Ranking congressmen have expressed support for the Office of the Solicitor General's (OSG) plan to file a quo warranto case against controversial Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac.
Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr. and Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong are of the opinion that a quo warranto case must be pursued in order to set the record straight.
READ MORE: https://mb.com.ph/2024/5/16/malaking-garapalan-na-ito-mayor-guo-should-go-through-quo-warranto-says-solons
Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr. and Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong are of the opinion that a quo warranto case must be pursued in order to set the record straight.
READ MORE: https://mb.com.ph/2024/5/16/malaking-garapalan-na-ito-mayor-guo-should-go-through-quo-warranto-says-solons
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NewsTranscript
00:00We welcome that.
00:02You know, this is a big deal.
00:05Mayor Alice Guo, in her answers,
00:13let's see, is she really a Filipino?
00:16I mean, she shouldn't be a mayor
00:19if she can't prove that she's a Filipino.
00:22She should be removed as a mayor.
00:26Because to me,
00:30the Chinese, not only China,
00:34doesn't want to control the West Philippine Sea.
00:38Even the whole Philippines wants to control it.
00:41Even our universities.
00:43So we'll have a hearing next week on this,
00:46about BI and everything like this.
00:49So to me, what the OSG is doing
00:53about Alice Guo is good.
00:55And I hope that
00:58the DILG can remove her
01:03if it's necessary,
01:04if there's a basis for her removal.
01:09It's not necessary to delay her removal.
01:12It's enough to make a way
01:16for the mayor of Bamban, Alice Guo,
01:21to be removed
01:23and not to be targeted by others.
01:27Well, as for me,
01:29in the position that the OSG decided
01:33to file a co-warrant,
01:35let's look at the basis of why the OSG.
01:38That's their direction.
01:41First of all, to protect,
01:42because it's well-connected to our electoral processes,
01:46isn't it?
01:47Because it was said in the Constitution,
01:49if you're a natural-born citizen,
01:51that's one of the requirements
01:52on how you can hold a public office,
01:54especially if you're in an elective position.
01:57The OSG wanted to protect
02:00our electoral processes,
02:02that are open to natural-born Filipinos.
02:06Second, the issue with this mayor
02:10is that he can't provide the documents
02:13that are requested of him.
02:1617 years, I guess,
02:1717 years in the country,
02:19he said it's the legislation.
02:20You know, in the legislation,
02:22to get a birth certificate,
02:25there are a lot of questions,
02:28there are a lot of processes.
02:30You need to bring your neighbors,
02:32to testify,
02:33your mother, your father,
02:34to prove that you were born here in the country,
02:38and you're a natural-born Filipino.
02:40Based on his answers during the committee hearings,
02:43he can't remember.
02:44Personally,
02:46the most important thing in a person's life,
02:48aside from getting married,
02:49because we already talked about divorce,
02:51is to get your citizenship.
02:54It's not easy to forget.
02:57Because there are so many requirements
03:02that your local registry is asking for.
03:05It's not easy to forget.
03:07It's impossible to forget
03:09the neighbors you brought there.
03:11So I don't buy that reason
03:13that he can't remember
03:16that he can't forget.
03:18It's just,
03:19it only shows how serious our government is
03:23really in protecting our electoral processes
03:26so that it won't be mockery
03:28and it won't be funny.
03:31I agree with the direction
03:35that is now being taken by the OSCE
03:38because we also have to protect
03:40the rights of our fellow Filipinos
03:42who voted for their fellow Filipinos
03:44because it's already in the Constitution.
03:47But I also have a personal issue
03:51beyond the concern with the Mayor of Mbamban,
03:57in Tarlac.
03:58Let's also look at our process
04:00in our local registries
04:01because in the Public Accounts Committee,
04:05which is now chaired by Congressman Stephen Paduano,
04:08Manong Karaps,
04:09the same cases are coming out.
04:12How is it possible to get citizenship
04:15from foreigners here?
04:18And mostly these are Chinese individuals.
04:20Many of them are even involved
04:23in crimes.
04:29There are cases in the NBI
04:31that they are being investigated.
04:32Similarly,
04:33although it is separate cases altogether
04:37with the Mayor,
04:40we also need to review
04:45the process of our local registry
04:50in filing and availing citizenship
04:54all the way to the PSA.
04:56So I think we also need to see that
04:59just to ensure that,
05:00first of all,
05:02we won't be able to get citizenship easily
05:07here in this country.
05:09I have my own personal experience.
05:12I will just add this.
05:13My birth certificate,
05:16I have a little typographical error.
05:20I still need to go to court.
05:23The process is too long
05:25and it needs to be published in the local news.
05:28And here they are,
05:29they got it so easily.
05:31I mean, you've been in the country for 17 years,
05:33you were born,
05:34and your parents didn't even think
05:37where did you go to school?
05:39I don't remember.
05:40Where did you go to school?
05:41How did you get accepted in school?
05:43Because you need a birth certificate
05:45before you go to school.
05:46I'm just saying,
05:47for a Filipino,
05:48a natural-born Filipino
05:49who was really born here
05:50because of a birth certificate,
05:51typographical error,
05:53the process is difficult and long.
05:58But for others,
05:59it's easy.
06:00So we also need to review their guidelines
06:03and their policies in the local registry
06:05before they go to PSA.