By Brian Jules Campued
The Office of Solicitor General (OSG) on Thursday said it targets to file the quo warranto petition against suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo in July, following the confirmation of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that the fingerprint of the mayor matched with Guo Hua Ping.
According to Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, the recent finding of the NBI expedited their process of collating pieces of evidence for the petition. Guevarra’s statement came after Senators Risa Hontiveros and Sherwin Gatchalian called to expedite the filing.
“This evidence will be extremely useful. But we have to tie this up with other existing evidence to come up with a cohesive picture,” Guevarra told People’s Television (PTV).
“If she misrepresented herself under oath or made false statements in her certificate of candidacy and related documents, she may be held criminally liable for perjury or falsification, aside from being ousted from public office through the proper proceedings,” he added.
According to the Omnibus Election Code, a quo warranto refers to an election contest relating to the qualifications of an elective official to determine if the said official has the right to exercise public office.
Under Rule 66 of the Rules of Court, the SolGen or a public prosecutor may initiate the filing of a quo warranto upon the orders of the President or on their initiative.
Meanwhile, Hontiveros echoed the OSG’s statement, adding that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would require Guo to face the charges against her in the Philippines before she would be deported to her origin country.
“Kahit na magkaroon ng penalty of deportation sa kanya, kapag na-convict siya on any of those cases, she will first have to serve her sentence here in the Philippines,” the senator said in a press briefing.
“So kumbaga, hindi lang free pass na made-deport at doon na lang niya harapin ‘yung consequences sa kung saang bansa siya made-deport. She will have to face the consequences here,” she added.
Based on a copy of the comparative examination of the fingerprints of “Alice Leal Guo” and “Guo Hua Ping,” conducted by the NBI from June 25 to 27 and released by Hontiveros’ office on Friday, the two individuals’ fingerprints were “found identical” and “affixed by one and the same person”.
Guo’s legal counsel said it is still too early to comment regarding the issue as they have not yet examined the documents that were recently revealed in connection with the allegations thrown against the mayor. According to Atty. Stephen David, they will address the issue “at the proper forum”.
The embattled local chief executive was absent during Wednesday’s Senate panel’s probe due to “stress and high level of anxiety”. (with report from Louisa Erispe and Daniel Manalastas/PTV News)
