DISMISSED Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, or Guo Hua Ping, yesterday pleaded not guilty before a Tarlac court in the material misrepresentation case filed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) against her.
Guo entered her plea before Branch 66 of the Capas, Tarlac Regional Trial Court.
Guo’s lawyer, Nicole Jamila, said Guo entered her plea “through video conferencing.”
The Comelec accused Guo of violating Section 74 of the Omnibus Election Code when she filed her certificate of candidacy for mayor in the 2022 polls despite supposedly being a Chinese citizen.
She was dismissed from her post as Bamban mayor in August after her supposed Chinese citizenship was discovered during a congressional investigation into her supposed role in the operation of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in her municipality that was raided by authorities in March this year.
Guo has denied that she is a Chinese citizenship and that she is involved in the illegal operations of the Bamban offshore gaming facility.
Jamila said their camp will file a petition for bail next week before the court.
“Aayusin lang namin ang mga requirements. Bailable naman ang offense (We will just gather and prepare the documents. The offense is a bailable one),” she said.
But even if the Tarlac court allows Guo to post bail, the dismissed mayor will remain in detention at the Pasig city jail as she has other pending cases, including a qualified human trafficking case before the Pasig RTC and a graft case before a Valenzuela City court.
Qualified human trafficking is a non-bailable offense.
The Office of the Solicitor General has also filed a quo warranto case against her before a Manila court.
