'Kilala ko lahat ng mga tiga-Tarlac na politiko, walang may kilala sa kanya. Kaya nagtataka kami,' says President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. flagged the mysterious background of a Philippine mayor who is now suspected of being an asset of China.

In an ambush interview in Cagayan de Oro City on Thursday, May 16, Marcos echoed the numerous questions floating in relation to the citizenship of Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo.

“Kilala ko lahat ng mga tiga-Tarlac na politiko, walang may kilala sa kanya. Kaya nagtataka kami kung saan nanggaling ito…. Hindi namin malaman,” Marcos said.

(I know all the politicians in Tarlac, and none of them know her. So we’re puzzled – where did she come from? We’re unable to determine this.)

“Kaya kailangan talagang imbestigahan. So, kasabay ng sa Bureau of Immigration, pati…. Siguro may magkukuwestiyon na ng kanyang citizenship. ‘Yun lahat iimbestigahan natin ‘yun kasama ang imbestigasyon, mga hearing na ginagawa ng Senado,” he added.

(An investigation is really needed. The Bureau of Immigration and the Senate are investigating her citizenship.)

The Office of the Solicitor General has already launched a probe into Guo’s background.

The President promised to put in place better monitoring procedures to ensure that incidents of foreigners posing as Filipinos would be avoided.

Asked whether they count as security risks, Marcos said it’s a possibility.

“Palagay ko. Hindi natin malaman kaya kailangan talaga nating pag-aralan nang mabuti,” he added.

(I think so. We can’t know for sure which is why we really need to closely study this.)

The 35-year-old Guo attracted national attention after attending a Senate hearing on the Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) raided in the town of Bamban, where she is the local chief executive.

Guo was interrogated on her alleged involvement in two illegal POGOs in the municipality, as well as her citizenship.

The mayor claimed she could not remember her birthplace, the reason behind the 17-year delay in her birth registration, and the homeschool program she was under.

Her inability to answer such basic questions prompted Senator Risa Hontiveros to ask whether Guo was actually a Chinese citizen on a mission to infiltrate local politics in the Philippines. – Rappler.com