SolGen: Guo can still run, unless…

MANILA, Philippines —  Detained Bamban mayor Alice Guo may still file a certificate of candidacy and run in next year’s elections despite an earlier ombudsman order disqualifying her from holding a public post, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said yesterday.

Guevarra said in an interview with “Storycon” on One News that none of the cases against Guo, including the ombudsman’s decision dismissing her from service, has attained finality.

“If the question is whether she can file her certificate of candidacy, the answer is yes. It’s ministerial on the part of the Comelec (Commission on Elections) to accept her certificate of candidacy. But whether she’ll be able to or be qualified to run or not is another matter. That’s a totally different matter,” Guevarra said in English and Filipino.

“The cases that have been filed against Alice Guo, none of them have achieved finality. The one from ombudsman, which is the decision that dismissed and disqualified her perpetually from running for public office, I believe that is still not final,” he added.

The same is true for the other cases filed against her, including the quo warranto and the petition for the cancellation of Guo’s birth certificate.

“Our assessment is that it is possible to have decisions from the trial courts before the end of the year,” Guevarra said, referring to the two cases. “But these decisions, even if they are favorable to the Philippine government, are subject to appeal. It’s the appeals that would delay (these cases).”

Guo is also facing several criminal cases, including a graft case pending at a Valenzuela City court and a non-bailable qualified human trafficking case lodged at a Pasig City court.

According to Guevarra, he sees two scenarios wherein Guo will be prohibited from running in next year’s elections. First is if the ombudsman decision attains finality due to the failure of Guo’s camp to file an appeal and, second, if the Comelec issues a ruling against Guo in the misrepresentation case against her.

“It’s all about timing,” he said, noting that a Comelec ruling may result in the exclusion of Guo’s name in the ballots for the 2025 elections.

Ong detained at Correctional

The quad committee of the House of Representatives ordered a 30-day detention of Katherine Cassandra Li Ong at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City after citing her for contempt for the second time.

CIW is the country’s sole penal facility exclusively for women offenders. It typically houses those whose convictions are final, much like its male counterpart, the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.

The 24-year-old Ong, the documented representative of Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) Lucky South 99, was transferred from the House detention facility after she was found lying over school records, where a graduation picture of her only proved to be a photo opportunity.

Ong was cited in contempt after telling lawmakers she could not remember her educational background, when asked by Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano (Abang Lingkod party-list) if she ever completed her schooling at the Alternative Learning System (ALS) either in 2016 or 2017.

She feigned innocence and claimed she could no longer recall the name of the public school she attended where she enrolled for ALS, repeatedly telling congressmen that she “forgot” all about her educational details.

Paduano, co-chair of the quad committee, questioned Ong’s claim of completing the ALS in 2016 or 2017, noting inconsistencies in her responses about where she attended the program.

“You’re lying, Ms. Cassandra Ong. Remember, previously you were cited in contempt, and I will once again cite you in contempt for lying,” Paduano told Ong after she failed to recall basic information about her educational history.

Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio questioned the decision, saying there are “serious legal questions” on whether the House, which is part of the legislative branch, can order the commitment of Ong to the CIW, a facility run by the executive branch.

He also expressed “alarm” over the “pressure” being brought against Ong by the committee, saying lawmakers are either “ignorant” of Ong’s right or “hell-bent” on punishing her “for merely invoking her rights under the Constitution.”

Topacio said having Ong “mingle” with convicted prisoners in the CIW violates certain laws, including the constitutional presumption of innocence, the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, and the freedom from arbitrary imprisonment contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Right

Also violated is the proscription against the commingling of persons not yet found guilty with those already convicted, as found in Article 10 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.

“It is deplorable that some House members have degenerated into monsters in their conduct of legislative investigations to the extent of exerting extra efforts to make life miserable for persons who do not conform to their prefabricated narrative,” Topacio said in a statement yesterday.–  Daphne Galvez