PSA flags irregularities in Bamban Mayor Alice Guo's birth certificate

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Statistics Authority confirmed on Wednesday that they found several discrepancies in the birth certificate of Bamban Mayor Alice Guo, including the absence of any government record that proves her mother's existence and her parents' marriage.

During the Senate women committee hearing, Sen. Loren Legarda also flagged the possibility that based on Guo's case, the operations of the so-called "syndicate" that allowed dozens of foreigners obtain Philippine passports using fake birth certificates, which is being probed by the blue ribbon committee, is "all rooted in the PSA."

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, chair of the Senate women committee, said during the hearing that no existing PSA documents prove the marriage and identity of the parents listed in her birth certificate: Angelito Guo and Amelia Leal.

While Guo's birth certificate states that her father's nationality was Filipino, Guo herself said her father was Chinese and a Chinese passport holder.
 
Based on these details, the PSA said that there is a "high possibility" that Guo's father — the person who provided the information used to belatedly register Guo's birth — provided false information.

"We can believe that there are several irregularities in this birth certificate," said lawyer Eliezer Ambatali, director of the PSA's legal service.

Based on their fact-finding investigation, PSA Assistant National Statistician Marizza Grande said Guo's mother, Amelia Leal, "is not existing" as she does not have any birth, marriage or death certificate.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian asked Ambatali if it is possible that Amelia Leal is not a real person, to which the PSA official answered in the affirmative. 

With three "critical irregularities" marring Guo's birth certificate, namely her parents' marriage, her father's nationality and her mother's identity, Gatchalian clarified whether the Bamban mayor's birth certificate could still be used as a primary document to obtain other IDs and records.

"A birth certificate that is registered may be used as a basis (for other documents), but it is not an absolute basis for the existence of a person," Ambatali said. 

The PSA official explained that a case