Alice Guo’s removal as mayor via quo warranto may come sooner – OSG

FILE PHOTO: Alice Guo’s removal as mayor of Bamban town in Tarlac via a quo warranto case may come sooner with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) finding that her fingerprints matched those of Chinese woman Guo Hua Ping, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra says on Friday, June 28, 2024. INQUIRER/MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA, Philippines—Alice Guo’s removal as mayor of Bamban town in Tarlac via a quo warranto case may come sooner with the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) finding that her fingerprints matched those of Chinese woman Guo Hua Ping.

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said Friday that the NBI fingerprint-matching test result could speed up the filing of the quo warranto case against the suspended local chief executive. He said the case will be filed as soon as possible, likely by next month.

“This evidence will be extremely useful, but we have to tie this up with other existing evidence to come up with a cohesive picture,” he explained.

READ: Mayor Alice Guo is also Chinese woman Guo Hua Ping, NBI confirms

A quo warranto, which means “by what authority,” is a special civil action to determine if an individual has the right to exercise or hold a public office. As to a corporation, to determine if it has the right to enjoy a franchise. If it is proven that they are not, they will be removed from office or stripped of the privilege that they enjoy.

Under Rule 66 of the Rules of Court, the Solicitor General or a public prosecutor may initiate the action for quo warranto upon the orders of the President of the Philippines or on his initiative.

On Thursday, June 27, Sen. Risa Hontiveros revealed that the NBI has confirmed that Mayor Guo and Guo Hua Ping’s fingerprints have matched.

“It means they are the fingerprints of one and the same person. This confirms what I have suspected all along. Mayor Alice is a fake Filipino —or, should I say, Guo Hua Ping. She is a Chinese national masquerading as [a] Filipino citizen to facilitate crimes being committed by [Philippine offshore gaming operators],” the senator said.

READ: NBI findings prove Alice Guo ‘a fake Filipino’ – senators

Hontiveros likewise said that this revelation is a great insult not only to voters in Bamban but also to the Philippine government.

“This is a very strong evidence to remove Mayor Alice from public office,” she added in Filipino.

Earlier, Hontiveros asked the NBI to compare the fingerprints of Mayor Guo and Chinese woman Guo Hua Ping. Her committee at the Senate has been probing into the mayor and her alleged ties with Philippine offshore gaming operators.