OSG eyes to file quo warranto petition vs. Mayor Guo, which would question her right to hold public office
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00:00A fingerprint, like one's DNA, is unique. No two are identical.
00:04Hence, the exact match of fingerprints of Bamban Mayor Alice Guo
00:08and those of passport holder Guo Hua Ping means Alice Guo and Guo Hua are one and the same person.
00:15As a result, a host of charges are being mulled by the government's top attorney
00:19to include perjury, falsification of official documents in a quo warranto case,
00:24questioning her authority for the post she holds, as our Luisa Erispe reports.
00:31Right after the National Bureau of Investigation revealed a fingerprint match
00:36between Bamban Tarloc Mayor Alice Guo and a Chinese passport holder Guo Hua Ping,
00:41this might be the start of a deeper investigation by the government against the local executive.
00:47Front and centerpiece of these investigations is the quo warranto petition
00:51to be filed by the Office of the Solicitor General
00:53which will question her legal right to hold public office in the Philippines.
00:57According to the OSG, the fingerprint match expedited their case build-up
01:02and they target to file the petition in July.
01:04And aside from removing her from office, she may also face criminal charges
01:09such as perjury and falsification of documents.
01:12This was affirmed by lawyers such as Department of Justice Undersecretary Raul Vazquez himself.
01:18He agrees this could be a game changer for the investigation by the government.
01:22It's a major development because this means to say that her citizenship would be under serious question.
01:32And it would make it would be easier, far easier for the OSG,
01:38our lawyers in cases of quo warranto proceedings, to initiate one.
01:43However, when it comes to the discussion of Guo Hua's deportation,
01:47Vazquez believes this may not be urgently implemented
01:51considering Guo Hua still has criminal complaints to face
01:54such as the qualified human trafficking complaint filed against her
01:58and others upon the DOJ.
02:00If you have a pending case, whether it's just on the criminal case,
02:05on the preliminary investigation stage or during trial,
02:11or worse, if you have a decision, you have to wait it out.
02:17The deportation, normally, it wouldn't come until the pending cases are over.
02:24Meanwhile, aside from the OSG, the Commission on Elections will also look into filing cases against Mayor Guo.
02:30This may be connected to a possible falsification of her certificate of categocy.
02:35The Kamalak only awaits for the OSG to first file a quo warranto petition before taking action.
02:41It is our duty, especially if there is a violation of our Omnibus Election Code,
02:45as the guardian of the Omnibus Election Code,
02:48the Kamalak should be the one to file a quo warranto petition,
02:50especially if the evidence is clear and if there is a violation,
02:55just like what the Senate is currently investigating,
02:57the OSG and the National Bureau of Investigation.
03:01The Kamalak also considers this situation to take a leap and request to the Congress
03:06to pass legislation authorizing them to conduct a motu proprio investigation on the COCs of the candidates.
03:13It is a good thing that this happened because we can clearly see the vulnerability,
03:19the weakness of our current law, especially in the filing of COCs.
03:24According to Kamalak, as of now, without a formal case regarding the citizenship of Mayor Alice Guo,
03:30she can still run for an elective position for 2025 election.
03:34The Kamalak is also in no position to remove her from the voters list.
03:38Luisa Erispe, from the National TV, for a new and better Philippines.