Legarda proposes FB page, hotline for reporting foreign candidates
MANILA, Philippines — As the 2025 elections draw near, Senator Loren Legarda suggested the creation of a Facebook page or hotline dedicated to receiving reports on foreign nationals “masquerading as Filipinos.”
Legarda made the suggestion when asked about individuals who plan to seek elective positions and have been involved in similar controversies as dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo.
“Sigurado nga ako sa dinami-dami nyan, malay mo konsehal. Magkaroon sana tayo ng hotline or Facebook page to report foreign nationals who either in the barangay level or SBs (sangguniang bayan) or mayors or whatever,” the senator said.
(I’m sure there will be a lot, maybe councilors. Let’s have a hotline or Facebook page to report foreign nationals who are either in the barangay level or SBs (sangguniang bayan) or mayors or whatever.)
“Report, ilagay mo yung kilala mo kapitbahay mo, dito natin kailangan ng mga marites […] Si barangay information network importante yan, local media – gawa kayo FB page [o] tayo na nga: Report foreign nationals who are masquerading as Filipinos,” she added.
(Report it. Put the people you know in your neighborhood; this is where we need busybodies. The barangay information network is important, local media – make a FB page or let’s do it: report foreign nationals who are masquerading as Filipino.)
Article continues after this advertisementLegarda said locals can easily spot these foreign nationals, especially if they only appeared a year ago or even 20 years ago, but with no existing relatives in the country.
Article continues after this advertisementGuo, now identified as Guo Hua Ping, was investigated by the Senate and House of Representatives over her involvement in the operation of illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogo).
READ: ‘I am Alice Guo’, insists ousted Tarlac town mayor
In August, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered her dismissal as mayor following the results of these investigations. She was found guilty of grave misconduct, which merited “dismissal from service with forfeiture of all her retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification to re-enter government service.”
Guo, along with others, is facing a qualified human trafficking complaint filed by the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission before the Department of Justice last June 21.
She left the country on July 18 despite an arrest order issued by the Senate after she was held in contempt for failing to attend its hearings on illegal Pogos.
Another warrant of arrest was also issued by the Tarlac Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 109 against Guo for reportedly violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act last September 5. This case was transferred from the Tarlac RTC to the Valenzuela RTC.
Guo was arrested by Indonesian authorities in Jakarta on September 4 and deported back to the Philippines on September 6.
