VERA Files
A video on YouTube claims that the birth certificate of Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo was faked and will be canceled by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). This is not true.
A YouTube channel published the video on May 24 with this headline:
“KAKAPASOK LANG | Alice Go (sic), Mananagot Sa Batas, Birth Certificate Kakanselahin | Pekeng Istorya Nabulgar Na
(Just in | Alice Guo held liable to the law, birth certificate will be canceled | Fake story revealed)”
No proof was provided in the 17-minute video to support its untrue claim. What was shown was a part of the May 22 Senate hearing on the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator hub in Bamban, Tarlac where senators questioned the irregularities in Mayor Guo’s birth certificate.
There is no definite evidence yet stating that Guo’s birth certificate was falsified. The investigation into Guo’s citizenship and her alleged links to illegal gaming operations is still ongoing.
It is also not true that the PSA will cancel Guo’s birth certificate, even as the agency confirmed several discrepancies in the mayor’s government record after it conducted a fact-finding investigation.
However, lawyer Eliezer Ambatali, director of the PSA’s legal service, said during a Senate hearing that a case may be filed to cancel a person’s birth certificate should it not meet the requirements needed to prove its validity.
Currently, there is no pending case seeking to annul Guo’s birth record.
The video emerged as the Senate continued its probe into Guo’s alleged connection to illegal Chinese gaming operations under her jurisdiction, which sparked questions about her Filipino citizenship.
An executive session intended to tackle more sensitive information about Guo will be held on June 5 while the Senate is in adjournment.
YouTube channel Latest Headline PH (created on June 9, 2017) published the spurious video, which could have reached more than 32,900 YouTube users and garnered over 12,600 views and 180 online engagements.
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