Public Service Announcement: Cancel Guo’s birth certificate

(UPDATES) The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has recommended the cancellation of the birth certificate of Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, as it was acquired fraudulently, throwing her identity into limbo.

Marizza Grande, deputy national statistician for the Bureau of Vital Statistics, told a Senate panel on Wednesday that the late registration of the births of Guo and his sister Shiela, on Nov. 22, 2005, was “irregular.”

Testifying at a hearing on human trafficking among some Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in Tarlac, Grande said they approved the cancellation of Guo’s certificate of live birth with the Office of the Solicitor General because that the PSA did not have the power to do so.

“Technically, her identity is in floating (status) because she is a government official and her Filipino citizenship is in question,” Grande said.

She said the PSA was investigating suspected fraudulent birth registrations.

“The PSA is doing its part to investigate whether there actually is a union (involved in this fraudulent birth registration),” Grande added.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, chairwoman of the committee, asked Grande if Guo obtained his birth certificate “fraudulently or irregularly” because he lacked supporting documents.

Grande replied, “Yes.”

Guo was unable to attend the ninth Senate inquiry into human trafficking in Tarlac on Wednesday because she was ill while her relatives were invited to the hearing but were also not present.

Guo sent a letter to the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, saying she was “unfit” to attend the June 26 hearing.

She said the previous hearings had “exposed her to stress and high levels of anxiety” which had seriously affected her mental health.

The mayor also said the prosecution of her for human trafficking had exposed her to “public ridicule” and tarnished her image.

Guo lamented that she had already been “prejudiced.” But she maintained that her failure to appear did not mean she wanted to ignore or disobey the committee.

Hontiveros, the committee chairman, raised the possibility that the mayor “stole” the identity of the real Alice Leal Guo. She presented an authorization from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) concerning a certain Alice Leal Guo, born July 12, 1986 in Tarlac.

The senator claimed that the mayor’s real name was Guo Haping.

“Is it a coincidence that this NBI clearance was requested just a few days before the filing date of the late birth registration of the other Alice Guo in Tarlac City?” she asked.

“Or is this a case of identity theft? Did Guo Haping assume the identity of a Filipino woman and then, almost a decade later, run for office ?Who is this woman called Alice Leal Guo, but who doesn’t look like the mayor? » Hontiveros further asked.

Senator JV Ejercito stressed the need to accelerate the phasing out of POGO operations due to the negative effects they have brought to the country.

He said the operation of POGOs in the country could also be compared to the aggressive presence and behavior of the Chinese in the West Philippine Sea.

“The presence of the Chinese coast guard and militias in our seas and the operations of POGOs on our lands have only caused chaos and social disorder,” Ejercito said.

He said these were “unsuccessful attempts to dampen the courage and spirit of the Filipino people, but have undeniably already had negative consequences on our communities and fellow citizens.”

“The committee uncovered and uncovered not only the important facts and information proving Mayor Guo’s involvement, but also the compelling and worrying reasons that call for a change in government policy regarding POGO operations,” Ejercito said.

Senator Grace Poe reiterated her call to ban POGOs, saying they have become a breeding ground for corruption.

Poe said POGOs had become a “major headache” for the government with the myriad problems they brought, such as crime, modern slavery, vice and illicit activities.

She said the Senate hearing on the raided POGO compound in Bamban, Tarlac, revealed how the company circumvented laws and regulations to thrive in its illegal business.

Poe said it was time to ban POGOs because they could not be regulated because they had protectors inside and outside of government.