Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo  attends the hearing on human trafficking called by the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality and the Committee on Migrant Workers; and Public Order and Dangerous Drugs. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATED) -- Marriages solemnized by dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo are not necessarily void, should her proof of Filipino citizenship be proven invalid.

Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said the Family Code provides that if either or both parties in marriage believe in "good faith" that the solemnizing officer had legal authority to do so, it falls under the exceptions to marriages that shall be void from the beginning.

"So kung ikaw ay in good faith naniwala ka na si Alice Guo ay talagang may otoridad na magkasal, I guess karamihan sa kanila ay ganoon ang tingin, dahil mayor nga naman siya, you could make use of this article," Abalos explained.

The Office of the Ombudsman ordered Guo's dismissal from service in August, after finding her "guilty of grave misconduct."

READ: Ombudsman orders dismissal of Bamban Mayor Alice Guo

READ: New Bamban, Tarlac officials sworn in

During the plenary debates on the proposed 2025 budget of the National Economic and Development Authority on Monday night, a lawmaker asked the Philippine Statistics Authority about the possible effect on marriages solemnized by Guo should her Filipino citizenship be considered invalid.

"Sa mga kaso na napatunayan po natin na fake ang birth certificate ng isang tao, for example in the case of Mayor Alice Guo, let's say nagkaroon ng final finding and ruling ang korte na peke nga ang kanyang birth certificate at hindi siya isang Pilipino, matatandaan po natin na naging mayor po siya and isa sa mga kapangyarihan ng mayor ay ang pag-solemnize ng mga marriages… Ano po 'yung epekto nito sa mga marriages na isinolemnize niya? Kasi nakalagay po sa ating batas na kung walang authority to solemnize ang isang solemnizing officer sa isang kasal void po ang kasal. So ang ibig sabihin po nito magiging void na rin po ba lahat ng mga Pilipinong ikinasal niya?" 4PS Party List Representative JC Abalos asked.

"Sa ngayon they are in the process of canceling itong birth certificate ni Alice Guo. As soon as that is approved by the court ay pabalikan po lahat po ng marriages solemnized by Alice Guo. Nasa records naman po lahat 'yun," House Committee on Appropriations Senior Vice Chairperson and NEDA's budget sponsor at the lower chamber Rep. Stella Quimbo replied.

-- 'Operative fact' -- 

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, who has initiated the quo warranto proceedings against Guo, admitted that the situation may be tricky for couples who were wed by the embattled former mayor.

Netizens are sharing on social media photos of weddings officiated by Guo, with some light moments between her and the couples.

"If Guo is ousted because she was ineligible, it's as if she never became mayor, her acts as such are technically invalid," Guevarra said in a text statement.

"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.

Department of Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty also says the weddings officiated by Guo in Bamban when she was mayor are still valid even if the quo warranto petition is approved by the court. 

"Yung mga kinasal ni Alice Guo nung panahon na mayor pa siya, tingin namin, pwede silang umasa sa doctrine of operative fact. Ang ibig sabihin ng doktrino na ito ay, kung halimbawa nawalang visa ang poder ng isang public official, kung yung panahon na may ginawa siya, may poder siya, may authority siya, may bisa itong mga ito, hiwalay ang authority hiwalay ang effect," Ty explained.

The former Bamban mayor was at the Philippine Senate on Tuesday for the continuation of the inquiry into illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

Guo, 33, left the Philippines in July amid questions regarding her identity and her role in illegal offshore gaming operations. She was arrested in Indonesia last September 3 and flown back to the Philippines two days later.

READ: Alice Guo back in Senate for POGO hearing

During Tuesday's hearing, Sual, Pangasinan Mayor Liseldo "Dong" Calugay told senators Tuesday that he is not romantically involved with dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo amid reports that the two were in a relationship and have businesses together.

Meanwhile, an official of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. told senators that a former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief may have aided Guo in her escape from the country.

The DOJ, for its part, is contemplating on filing other cases against Guo in Pasig City after the Supreme Court ordered the transfer of the human trafficking case against her and other Chinese nationals from the Regional Trial Court in Capas, Tarlac to the  Pasig City Regional Trial Court.

Aside from the trafficking case, the graft case of Guo was also transferred from Capas to the Regional Trial Court of Valenzuela City. 

"Ang basa namin dun sa order galing sa Supreme Court ay lahat ng mga kaso na may ukol dito sa POGO sa Bamban, so mukhang yung money laundering natin sa Pasig din, at yung mga susunod pang mga kaso, bukod sa human trafficking at money laundering, mukhang sa Pasig na din natin ihahain," said Ty.

Ty also said laywers of Guo who committed irregularities, as revealed during the hearing at the Senate, may have to face consequences before the Supreme Court or the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. -- with a report from Adrian Ayalin, ABS-CBN News

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