Will the marriages that dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo solemnized still be valid if the court grants the Solicitor General’s petition to declare her proclamation as local official null and void?
Even before Guo was dismissed by Ombudsman for grave misconduct, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) in July filed a quo warranto petition against the then-suspended mayor.
In the 45-page petition, the OSG asked the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 34 to declare Guo’s proclamation as Bamban mayor null and void and for her to be ousted.
The court was also asked to declare Guo as ineligible to hold the office of the mayor of Bamban and to declare her to have committed acts that warrant her forfeiture.
In the petition filed with the RTC, the respondent was indicated as “Guo Hua Ping a.k.a. Alice Leal Guo.”
“Guo Hua Ping a.k.a Alice Leal Guo is unlawfully holding the position and illegally exercising the duties and responsibilities of the office of the mayor of Bamban, Tarlac,” Guevarra said when asked about the main grounds of the petition.
He said that Guo was a Chinese national and was ineligible to run for office.
“As abundantly shown by various government records, respondent Guo Hua Ping a.k.a Alice Leal Guo is the daughter of two Chinese citizens, Lin Wenyi and Guo Jian Zhong,” the OSG said.
On Tuesday, Guevarra was asked if the marriages Guo solemnized remained valid if the quo warranto petition against her was granted.
“If Guo is ousted because she was ineligible, it’s as if she never became mayor. Her acts as such are technically invalid,” Guevarra told reporters.
“But if other parties acted in good faith upon the honest belief that Guo had legal authority, the doctrine of ‘operative fact’ may find applicability and legal effects may be recognized,” he added.
Guevarra said the couples Guo married “need not do anything.”
“Just let it be… Unless the issue is raised before the court, the status quo remains. The married person cannot unilaterally declare that his/her marriage is invalid,” Guevarra said.
“That is, children will still be considered legitimate, properties will remain community properties, etc.,” he added.
