Tarlac Officials Support Bamban Mayor Alice Guo
BAMBAM MAYOR ALICE GUO – Some Tarlac officials rally behind embattled Bamban Mayor Alice Guo amid controversy.
On Monday evening, Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, aged 38, took to Facebook to address her difficulty in responding to personal inquiries during a recent Senate hearing probing allegations of her being a Chinese spy. She shared her upbringing on a hog-raising farm with her father, where she stayed hidden due to being born out of an affair between him and their housekeeper.
Guo was troubled by the Senate’s inquiries into her identity, as she sought to steer clear of revisiting her history and involving her 70-year-old father, Jian Zhong Guo, in the controversy surrounding her background. Despite her birth certificate, which was issued 17 years after her birth, stating her father, referred to as Angelito, as Filipino, Guo had previously recorded him as a Chinese national for her embroidery business.
Alice Guo expressed hope that her Filipino mother would step forward to definitively refute accusations of her being groomed as a Chinese asset. According to a report from Inquirer, Guo is described as an exceptionally kind individual, renowned for her helpfulness and friendly demeanor.
The president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) in Tarlac province defended Guo, who serves as the chapter’s treasurer, amid accusations against the embattled Bamban mayor of being a Chinese spy. Mayor Estelita Aquino of Moncada town, the LMP president, stressed that they have no issues with Guo and highlighted the progress seen in Bamban under her leadership.
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Mayor Estelita Aquino stated that their interactions mainly revolve around official local government matters, expressing confidence that Guo will overcome the negative attention surrounding Tarlac. “We don’t have any problem with her. Progress has come to the sleepy town of Bamban,” she said. “Every time we see each other, we only talk about what concerns our local government units. We talk about official matters,” she added.
According to the report, Mayor Alice Guo’s vice mayor, Leonardo Anunciacion, expressed disbelief in the rationale for the mayor’s recommended suspension by the Department of the Interior and Local Government. Guo is under investigation for her alleged ties to a Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) hub near Bamban’s municipal hall.
Anunciacion expressed unease at seeing Guo accused of harboring Chinese nationals involved in illegal activities but indicated he wouldn’t oppose her suspension if it were to happen. He expressed readiness to await further developments, having served as Guo’s predecessor after three terms as Bamban mayor.