Lawyer: Sans conviction, disqualification, Guo still eligible to file COC

Dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo appears in the Senate on Monday, September 9, 2024, at the resumption of the Senate inquiry into the Pogo hub in Tarlac. INQUIRER.net / NOY MORCOSO

MANILA, Philippines — Dismissed Mayor Alice Guo (real name: Guo Hua Ping) may still be able to file her certificate of candidacy (COC) for reelection in Bamban, Tarlac, because of the absence of a conviction or perpetual disqualification to hold public office, said an election lawyer on Thursday.

This is despite the fact that Guo has already been dismissed from her post as Bamban mayor by the Ombudsman.

“Kailangan ang conviction [with] [perpetual disqualification] ay final and executory (the conviction with perpetual disqualification has to be final and executory),” Atty. Romulo Macalintal told reporters.

Macalintal then explained that Guo may file a case because of this and would be up to those seeking her disqualification to prove that she is not a Filipino citizen.

“Yes she can run by filing her COC but for sure a DQ (disqualification) case might be filed against her. This is so because she has not yet been proven to be a foreigner or no judicial declaration that she is not a Filipino citizen,” Macalintal told reporters through a Viber message.

“It is not for her to prove that she is a Filipino but for anyone asking for her disqualification to prove that she is not a Filipino citizen,” he further said, reiterating that Guo has not yet been convicted of a crime as final and executory.

Malacalintal then said that while the Commission on Elections (Comelec) itself can file a motu proprio disqualification case against her, “she is still entitled to due process.”

“This means that Comelec might issue a show cause order directing her to show cause why the COC should not be given due course or canceled,” explained Macalintal.

“If Comelec [disqualifies] her she can appeal to the SC (Supreme Court) and it is only [the] SC [which] can declare w finality if Comelec is correct in deciding to DQ her,” he added.

READ: Alice Guo has until Sept. 12 to file counter-affidavit – Comelec

Guo is currently being investigated due to her links to illegal Pogo operations in Bamban, Tarlac.

She is also facing charges for graft, qualified human trafficking, money laundering, and tax evasion.