Mayor Guo's fingerprints do not match Alice Guo's in 2005 NBI data

MANILA – The fingerprints of suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo did not match the record of another Alice Guo who applied for a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance in 2005.

In a press briefing in Quezon City on Wednesday, NBI Director Jaime Santiago said the other Alice Guo in the NBI database and Mayor Guo, however, have the same birthday and were both born in Tarlac.

"Meron pang isang Alice Guo na kumuha ng clearance in 2005. Remember that yung (alien certificate of registration) niya na naka-file sa amin is 2006. Kumuha si Alice Guo noong 2021 ng clearance. Merong kumuha ng clearance 2005, Alice Guo din (There is another Alice Guo who applied for clearance in 2005. Remember that her alien certificate of registration filed with us is 2006. Alice Guo obtained clearance in 2021. Someone got clearance in 2005, also an Alice Guo)," Santiago said.

He said the NBI is investigating the motive of this other Alice Guo and whether she was instructed to apply for an NBI clearance using the same name to confuse authorities.

In an earlier press briefing at the Commission on Election, Santiago said they are already looking for this third "Alice Guo."

He said the NBI is also offering a reward to anyone who can give them information on her whereabouts.

The NBI earlier said the fingerprints of the suspended mayor and those of a Chinese passport holder Guo Hua Ping were identical.

Meanwhile, Senator Risa Hontiveros said the NBI's discovery of another Alice Guo would not affect the ongoing Senate inquiry into Mayor Guo's links to illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

"Kahit sampu pa ang lumabas na Alice Guo sa buong Pilipinas, si Mayor Alice Guo ng Bamban, Tarlac ang katangi-tanging Chinese citizen na naging mayor. Ang imbestigasyon ay para kay Alice Guo na hindi Filipino citizen (Even if 10 more Alice Guos emerge in the entire Philippines, Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac remains the only Chinese citizen who became a mayor. The investigation is for Alice Guo who is not a Filipino citizen)," Hontiveros said in a statement.

The Senate inquiry into the illegal POGOs will resume on July 10. (PNA)