MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed Friday, October 4, that it cancelled the Philippine passport of disgraced Bamban Mayor Alice Guo.
The DFA, in a statement to media, said it acted after it received from the Justice Department a certification by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) saying Guo’s biometrics matched that of Guo Hua Ping, a Chinese national.
The cancellation of Guo’s Philippine passport took effect on September 30.
The country’s New Philippine Passport Law states that the document may be “denied, or cancelled, or restrictions may be imposed… When a passport was acquired fraudulently, tampered with, or issued erroneously,” among other grounds.
“The DFA is committed to upholding the security and integrity of issuing Philippine passports and assures the public that fraudulent application and acquisition of passports are referred to law enforcement agencies for investigation and prosecution,” said the DFA, through its spokesperson Teresita Daza.
The DFA added: “The DFA enforces Zero Tolerance Policy for unscrupulous individuals circumventing the Philippine passport application and issuance procedures.”
Guo has been the subject of a months-long probe into the existence and her ties to a Philippine Offshore Gambling Operator (POGO) in Bamban just beside the municipal hall. The POGO was found to have been a hotbed for scam operations, as well as human rights abuses towards its workers.
It was through the Senate probe, led by opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros, that questions on Guo’s real identity were first raised. She has been accused of being a Chinese spay — an allegation she has denied.
Recently, an Al Jazeera report revived talk that Guo was a spy after a China-born gambling tycoon who claims to be a Ministry of State Security agent said she was an agent like him. The same report said locals in the Chinese town she was allegedly born in said Guo only left China in 2002. She claims to have been born in the Philippines to a Chinese father and Filipina mother. Guo has denied these allegations too.
She faces a slew of cases, from trafficking to graft. She has also been dismissed and disqualified from holding public office by the Office of the Ombudsman. Guo is currently under police custody after fleeing the Philippines and getting caught in Indonesia.
The DFA earlier said it was “monitoring developments” following allegations that Guo was a Chinese spy. – Rappler.com
