"Yes, I created a special team of solicitors last week to look into the matter and determine if there is good reason to believe that the subject is unlawfully holding or exercising a public office," Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said in a message to reporters on Thursday.
"If it could be established by proof, the OSG will commence quo warranto proceedings to oust the person concerned."
For now, Guevarra said, the OSG is gathering relevant information from the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Education, Philippine Statistics Authority, Bureau of Immigration and other government agencies.
During a Senate hearing last week, Senator Risa Hontiveros noted that the 37-year-old Guo apparently “came out of nowhere.”
The mayor, who won on her first attempt at running for the position, remained evasive when questioned about her background before joining local politics, raising even more suspicion about her citizenship.
Based on records from the Comelec, Guo declared that she is a Filipino citizen in her certificate of candidacy, and no one challenged her qualifications, allowing her to run and eventually win as mayor of Bamban, Tarlac.
PBBM backs probe
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday pressed the need to dig deeper into the identity of Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, who is being investigated by the Senate over allegations that she may be a Chinese asset.
In a media interview in Cagayan de Oro City, Marcos bared that Guo has been under the government’s radar as she is not known among local leaders.
“Kilala ko lahat ng mga taga-Tarlac na politiko, walang may kilala sa kanya. Kaya nagtataka kami kung saan nanggaling ito? Bakit ganito ito? Hindi namin malaman (I know all the politicians from Tarlac, no one knows her. So, we are wondering where she came
from? We don't know),” Marcos told reporters.
“Kaya kailangan talagang imbestigahan (That’s why an investigation is really needed).”
Guo’s nationality is being questioned after the possibility of her involvement in the two illegal Philippine offshore gaming operations that were recently raided in her city, was floated during a Senate investigation.
Her case is also being linked to the alleged growing Chinese presence in the country due to the influx of Chinese nationals into the country.
Marcos said immigration authorities should now tighten their guards to ensure the safety of Filipinos.
When pressed if he sees the presence of foreign nationals with questionable backgrounds like Guo as a security threat, the President said, “Palagay ko. Palagay ko. Hindi natin malaman kaya kailangan talaga nating pag-aralan nang mabuti. Pero may possibility na ganyan (I think so. We are not sure so we need to look into this closely. But there’s a possibility that it is a security threat).” PNA
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