THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc has approved the filing of charges against suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo for misrepresentation in her candidacy in the 2022 local elections.

"The Comelec en banc has unanimously adopted the recommendation of the Legal Department to file a formal complaint against Mayor Alice Guo/Guo Hua Ping," said Chairman George Erwin Garcia on Tuesday.

Garcia said the en banc's go signal was based on the findings of the Comelec investigating panel that all fingerprints provided by the National Bureau of Immigration and the Bureau of Immigration matched with fingerprints in Guo's certificate of candidacy, application for registration as voter, and her fingerprints on the election day computerized voters list.

"All of those fingerprints are the same and came only from one person," Garcia said. "Based on the findings of our [fingerprint] experts and our investigating panel, the fingerprints are from Mayor Alice Guo."

The law department, he added, would conduct a preliminary investigation on the matter to determine probable cause as part of due process.

The preliminary investigation would take at least two weeks.

Garcia pointed out that under Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code, misrepresentation is a criminal case punishable by one to six years imprisonment.

The law department, Garcia added, can issue a subpoena against the embattled local chief executive even as he admitted that Guo's non-appearance could delay the process.

Garcia pointed out that Guo is also liable for "perjury," a separate case, because she lied under oath when she claimed that she was a Filipino citizen in her certificate of candidacy.

Garcia said if Guo was found guilty in court and the sentence became final and executory, she would be perpetually disqualified from holding public office.

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