By Junex Doronio

MANILA — With the controversy generated by the “puzzling citizenship” of Bamban (Tarlac) Mayor Alice Guo, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra on Wednesday (15 May 2024) said that his office may file a quo warranto petition questioning her right to hold public office if it finds a possible reason to do so.

Guevarra said the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) is now gathering relevant information on the case of Guo, who is being investigated for alleged involvement in an illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO) hub and whose identity as a Filipino is being questioned.

“If there is good reason to believe that the subject unlawfully holds or exercises a public office, the OSG may commence action on its own. More specifically, a petition for quo warranto,” the SolGen said in his interview on GMA Integrated News.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Garcia earlier said the OSG may file a quo warranto petition.

It was learned from the Supreme Court (SC) that a quo warranto proceeding is a legal remedy to determine a person’s right or title to a public office and to oust the holder from its enjoyment.

For her part, Guo said she had been asked by many individuals who she was since 2022.

“Ako po si Alice Guo, taga Barangay Virgen delos Remedios. Ang nanay ko po ay Pilipina. Ang tatay ko po ay isang Chinese,” Guo said then.

But Senator Risa Hontiveros has aired doubts, saying Guo’s birth certificate indicated that her father was a Filipino but was said to be Chinese in business records.

(el Amigo/MNM)

By Liezelle Soriano

MANILA — Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra stated that the final decision regarding the Philippines’ return to the International Criminal Court (ICC) lies with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

“Your resolutions urge the President to cooperate, but the ultimate decision on whether the government will indeed cooperate rests with the President,” Guevarra remarked when asked about how Marcos would respond to resolutions filed by House members.

“Your resolution is an expression of sentiment. It reflects your feelings about it. However, the actual decision rests with the President, whether he chooses to grant your request. Nasa kanya po iyon,” Guevarra emphasized during deliberations in the House of Representatives.

Guevarra, who served as Justice Secretary during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, also highlighted that the country has no legal obligation to cooperate with the ICC.

Meanwhile, he pointed out that the country’s return to the ICC would undergo a process, as mentioned by Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.

“If you want to rejoin, it will still go through a process,” Dela Rosa stated. “After the president’s ratification, it has to be concurred by the Senate with a two-thirds vote. So that’s the process. Back to zero, back to square one,” he added.

However, former Senate President Franklin Drilon on Tuesday said the decision to return to the fold of the Rome Statute of the ICC lies solely with the president of the land, needing no concurrence from the Upper Chamber.

Current Senate President Migz Zubiri seconded this observation in a separate media interview also on Tuesday.

(ai/mnm)