Comelec cannot reject Alice Guo’s COC if she decides to file her application

Can Alice Guo still file her candidacy before the Comelec amid ongoing cases?

COMELEC – The Election Commission has explained why it cannot refuse Alice Guo’s certificate of candidacy if she decides to file it.

Currently, the submission of candidacies for the May 2025 mid-term elections is underway. Local and national elections are expected to take place next year. As part of the latter, there will be a senatorial race. Several political parties have announced their senatorial list.

One of the questions many people are asking is whether Alice Guo is seeking to return to the Bamban, Tarlac City Hall. The Ombudsman ordered Guo’s dismissal due to his alleged links to illegal Philippine offshore gaming operations in the country.

Previously, former mayor of Bamban Alice Guo said she does not yet have a final decision on whether to run for mayor. in next year’s elections. She also claimed during a Senate hearing that she would have actually planned to return home to the Philippines before her arrest in Indonesia.

Indonesian authorities arrested Guo at a rented apartment in Jakarta. She was able to flee the Philippines amid multiple complaints filed against her and her name appearing on immigration watch lists.

The former mayor along with her supposed sister, Shiela Guo, who later claimed they were not biological sisters, claimed to have left the Philippines on a “small boat.” Their alleged brother, Wesley Guo, has yet to be located by authorities.

Alice Guo is currently detained in the Pasig City Jail. She shares the cell with six (6) inmates. The Court allowed her to attend Senate and House hearings on her alleged illegal involvement in POGO operations, which she denies.

Guo also continually claims she is Filipino. The Comelec had previously reacted to the questionable identity of the former mayor. His father is Chinese, his mother is Filipino and his fingerprints match those of Chinese national Guo Hua Ping.

Recently, the Election Commission admitted that it cannot reject Alice Guo’s certificate of candidacy (COC) if she ever decides to file for a government position. Based on a report by ABS-CBN News, Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said their power is “ministerial” when it comes to the COC.

“Wala po kaming kapangyarihan tanggihan, I-pre-evaluate or I-reject again ‘yung mga pina-file na COC,” Laudiangco said.

Based on the report, the Comelec spokesperson further explained that they cannot reject Guo’s application right away, but that also does not guarantee that the acceptance of her COC if she files his or her application is equivalent to a qualified application.

“Una, ‘yang kaso niya (Guo) is gumugulong ngayon. Now I want Kasong’s case to be short and the Comelec’s election offense is not the first time, I will do the final rin pong,” he said.

According to Laudiangco, if there is ever a decision on the charges against Alice Guo, either a motion to vacate her COC will be filed or she will be disqualified. According to the report, their acceptance of Guo’s COC if she files her candidacy is like in the case of harmful candidates: although the Comelec knows their nature, it cannot reject their applications.