EDITORIAL - Certainly up to no good

Right now we can argue that the most intriguing person in the Philippines is Bamban, Tarlac, Mayor Alice Leal Guo.

Who she truly is largely remains a mystery. Her claim that she only got a birth certificate after she had turned 17 (late registration) could mean that she really wasn’t born here. Her claim that she was home-schooled for most of her student years (with the addition that she can’t remember who provided that service) could also mean that she didn’t study here either.

According to a news report, she didn’t even register as a voter until her thirties. You can draw even more speculation from that one.

Then it was President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., himself who said that the politicians in Tarlac don’t seem to know Guo, adding more fuel to the fire.

Yet some people in Bamban are swearing that they have known her all their lives. She also has her supporters in Bamban. Recently she posted a recent photo of herself along with President Marcos and other Tarlac politicians to prove her prominence. So what exactly is going on here? 

We are aware of the wilder speculations about who she is, including being someone who was planted in power by the criminal gangs running the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs), or perhaps even by the Chinese government. But until sufficient proof is found we won’t jump to these conclusions, exciting and movie-worthy as they are.

But what we want is for the authorities to be able to properly screen who are qualified to run for public office in this country and who aren’t.

Given how easy it is to manufacture records or documents nowadays it becomes easy to fake an identity and pursue higher office. Even more so when those who are assigned to scrutinize the requirements really don’t make an effort to do so at all.

Someone who is looking to make it to a prime government position by deceptive means, whether through mass bribery, fear and intimidation, faking numerous documents and records, or whatever other means, is certainly up to no good.