Could be a ruse to confuse authorities
ANOTHER “Alice Guo” has been discovered by the National Bureau of Investigation in its database but the fingerprints of this person — if she really exists — did not match the fingerprints of suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo.
NBI Director Jaime Santiago yesterday said the latest “Alice Guo” listed her address in 2005 as 138 Kalantiaw Street, Project 8, Quezon City. She shared the same birthday — July 12, 1986 — with the disgraced mayor.
“The fingerprint of this Alice Guo did not match with that of the mayor,” Santiago said, adding the NBI has not found a woman with the records of “Alice Guo” living in the area.
“When we proceeded to No.138 ang nakatira dun (the one living there) is one Ben Publico and when we asked if there was an Alice Guo who resided there ang sagot ay di nila kilala ang taong ito (he doesn’t know this person),” Santiago said, adding that Publico told NBI operatives he had been living in the area since his birth and no one by the name of Alice Guo lives there.
Last week, the NBI unmasked Mayor Guo as a Chinese masquerading as a Filipino citizen, raising calls for her to be kicked out as mayor. The mayor’s fingerprints matched that of the 13-year-old Chinese girl, Guo Hua Ping, who entered the country in January 2003.
Santiago said the result of the fingerprint analysis on the “third” Alice Guo would not affect their earlier conclusion that Mayor Guo and Guo Hua Ping are the same.
Santiago said he believes the woman who applied and sought NBI clearance nearly 20 years ago was instructed to apply for the document using the name “Alice Guo” to further confuse authorities.
Santiago said the woman, if found, may be held criminally liable for concealing her true identity.
A television report said the NBI has offered P50K as a reward for any information that may lead to the real identity or the whereabouts of the latest “Alice Guo.”
Reacting to the NBI’s latest findings, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said the agency should investigate the “third” Alice Guo “to know the authenticity of the person.
“But this does not erase the fact that Alice Guo has matching fingerprints with Guo Hua Ping and, therefore, they are one and the same (person),” he said.
Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros dismissed the discovery of another “Alice Guo,” saying the fact remains that Mayor Guo is the only Chinese citizen elected (as) municipal mayor even (if) there are 10 other Alice Guos who will come out in the open.
The investigation is all about Alice Guo who is not a Filipino,” she stressed.
ANOTHER FAKE
Gatchalian said they found another proof that the Guo family abused the late registration of birth records when the NBI discovered that Guo Xiang Dian is Wesley Leal Guo, one of the siblings of Mayor Guo.
Gatchalian said the NBI crossmatched the fingerprints of Guo Xiang Dian taken from the records of the Bureau of Immigration and that of Wesley Leal Guo taken from the bureau’s biometric records, and found a perfect match.
“Guo Xiang Dian arrived in the Philippines in 1999. He’s listed as the dependent son of Lin Wen Yi which made him Guo Hua Ping’s brother,” Gatchalian said.
Lin Wen Yi is the suspected biological mother of Guo Hua Ping, the 13-year-old Chinese girl who entered the country in 2003.
He said Wesley is an incorporator of CDAG Realty Corporation in which Mayor Guo is the majority owner.
“This again demonstrates that the registration process was abused by the Guo family to falsely claim that they are Filipinos,” he added.
CASE BUILDUP
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday formally asked the NBI for a copy of its findings on Mayor Guo to bolster its case buildup against the Bamban chief executive.
In a press briefing after meeting with NBI Director Jaime Santiago, Comelec chief George Garcia said the copy of the NB report would help the poll body’s Law Department in its ongoing assessment of the case set to be filed against the mayor.
“We are officially requesting the report findings on the fingerprint examination and such other examinations that the NBI is conducting so that we can use these documents as evidence in our ongoing case buildup,” said Garcia.
“This will be very helpful to the Comelec in launching our own investigation for possible violation of election laws, especially on the issue of misrepresentation,” he added.
Santiago said the NBI is ready to assist the Comelec in its case buildup against Guo.
“It is up to the Comelec what will be their next move. We will only be assisting them,” said Santiago.
The poll chief said they would also ask for a copy of the forthcoming Petition for Quo Warranto to be filed by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) against the mayor.
“In the event that it (petition) is finalized, we will also ask for a copy of that because we need to determine if there was indeed misrepresentation,” said Garcia.
He added they would wait for the committee report of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality regarding its ongoing probe on Guo.
“The most vital is the findings of the Senate committee investigating this matter,” said Garcia.
Last Monday, Garcia said he had directed their Law Department to start evaluating the case and the findings against Guo.
The Comelec is looking to file an election offense case against Mayor Guo for supposed material misrepresentation in her Certificate of Candidacy (COC) filed for the May 2022 polls when she ran for and won as mayor. — With Raymond Africa and Gerard Naval
