The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 34 has nullified the mayoralty of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, ruling that she is actually Chinese citizen Guo Hua Ping.
In a June 27 decision penned by Presiding Judge Liwliwa Hidalgo-Bucu, the court granted a quo warranto petition filed by the Office of the Solicitor General, declaring Guo’s assumption of office and her entire term legally void.
The court concluded that “Chinese citizen Guo Hua Ping and Alice Leal Guo are the same person,” citing her birth to Chinese nationals Guo Jian Zhong and Lin Wenyi. Fingerprint analysis also revealed 15 matching ridge characteristics on her right index and middle fingers.
Guo contended the case was moot, referencing her dismissal by the Ombudsman in August 2024 over alleged ties to a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO), which posed national security risks. Still, the court asserted its duty to rule given the case’s “peculiar circumstances and novelty.”
The court also dismissed a petition-in-intervention by Jose Salting Jr., who argued he should assume the post as the 2022 second-highest vote-getter. It rejected the “second-placer rule” as a violation of the electorate’s right to suffrage. (ZIA LUNA)
