ALICE GUO ‘UNDOUBTEDLY A CHINESE’ – COURT

A MANILA court ruled that Alice Guo is “undoubtedly a Chinese citizen.”

With the findings, the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 34, voided Guo’s mayorship of Bamban, Tarlac.

The ruling stemmed from the quo warranto petition filed by the Office of the Solicitor General.

A quo warranto is a legal remedy to challenge a person’s right to hold a public office. It may be filed on the ground of ineligibility based on citizenship during the respondent’s tenure.

The court found that Guo is “undisputedly” a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping, who was born of Chinese parents Guo Jian Zhong and Lin Wenyi. She and her parents are holders of Chinese passports.

The Manila RTC also noted that there exists no birth, death and even marriage records of Guo’s purported parents Angelito Guo and Amelia Leal.

The court likewise gave credence to the expert testimony of Alfredo Kahanding, chief of the Dactyloscopy Division of the National Bureau of Investigation, that Guo matched fingerprints of Chinese citizen Guo Hua Ping, who arrived in the Philippines from Fujian, China in July 1999, with her parents Guo Jian Zhong and Lin Wenyi.

The court said Guo’s case was a matter of national security, as a foreign national was able to “circumvent the law by posing herself as a Filipino citizen” to enter public office.

In August 2024, the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed Guo for  “grave misconduct” in connection with the alleged illegal activities of POGO hubs in Bamban.

Guo, who is facing human trafficking, money laundering, and tax evasion cases, is currently detained in Pasig City Jail following her arrest in Indonesia in September 2024.

Guo, accused of being a Chinese spy, repeatedly insisted that she is a Filipino.