President Ferdinand Marcos is in favor of the ongoing investigation on the citizenship of Bamban Mayor Alice Guo, citing the questionable background of the latter.
“We’ve been monitoring that for a long time. Because we conducted a raid in Bamban and we saw the documents. We are now questioning if these are really true, and how did she run for mayor?” the official said.
Mr. Marcos expressed bewilderment regarding the mayor’s political background, noting that he knew a lot of politicians from Tarlac, but no one seems to have information on Guo’s personal background.
“I know all the politicians from Tarlac, but nobody knows her. That’s why we’re wondering where she came from. Why is it like this? We can’t figure it out,” the President said.
The chief executive emphasized the need for a thorough investigation on the mayor’s citizenship.
“So, it really needs to be investigated. Along with the Bureau of Immigration, maybe there will be questions about citizenship. We will investigate all of that together with the hearing being conducted by the Senate,” the President said.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has already created a special team of solicitors to determine whether Guo has the legal right to hold a public position.
Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said the team was created last week to look into the case of the mayor.
“I created a special team of solicitors to look into the matter and determine if there is good reason to believe that the subject is unlawfully holding or exercising public office,” Guevarra said in a text message.
“If it could be established by proof, the OSG will commence quo warranto proceedings to oust the person concerned. For now, we are gathering relevant information from various agencies,” he added.
The Solicitor General said they are currently coordinating with the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Department of Education (DepEd), Bureau of Immigration (BI), and other concerned agencies.
A quo warranto, which literally means “by what authority,” is a special civil action to determine if an individual has the right to exercise or hold a public office. If proven that they are not, they will be removed from office or stripped of the privilege.
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 own initiative.
“We are doing this upon our own initiative as counsel for the State,” the Solicitor General said.
Guo’s name came up after documents showed that Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) Zun Yuan Technology’s electric meter was registered under Guo’s name. A sports utility vehicle registered under her name was also found in the area.
Last March, the authorities raided the Zun Yuan compound and rescued 499 foreign workers.