Photo: Atty. Ernesto Arellano

MANILA, Philippines – Senatorial candidate Ernesto Arellano filed a petition before the Commission on Elections Thursday seeking to delay the printing of election ballots for the 2025 midterm elections to remove fake, unqualified political aspirants like what happened in the case of dismissed Bamban town Mayor Alice Guo.

“I am asking the COMELEC to clean up the list of candidates by removing fake and unqualified candidates like the one involving Alice Guo also known as [Guo] Hua Ping who filed her candidacy and won as mayor despite her Chinese citizenship,” Arellano said in a statement. 

The lawyer-labor leader specifically asked that every candidate be required to submit a certified true copy of their birth certificate and a certificate of no criminal record from the National Bureau of Investigation. 

He pointed out that ordinary FIlipinos are required to submit various documents when applying for jobs including birth certificates, NBI and police clearances along with various IDs. 

“Why should the candidates be exempt from this?” He said. 

He also questions those with dual citizenship like  Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support Partylist Rep. Erwin Tulfo who he said holds a US passport.

He also moved to verify if Sen. Bong Go who is running for a Senate reelection is also a Filipino citizen. 

“Because if candidates have dual citizenship, where does their loyalty lie? With the Philippines, China, the US or other countries where they also hold citizenship?” He said. 

Guo, who has taken the spotlight earlier this year due to her alleged involvement in POGO operations and who has been proven to be Chinese national Guo Hua Ping still planned to reclaim the mayorship of Bamban even after the controversy in her citizenship. 

The COMELEC already filed a material misrepresentation case against Guo who later retracted her election plans.