Comelec Chairman George Garcia said they will ask lawmakers to pass a measure that would allow the poll body to refuse accepting the certificates of candidacy (COC’s) of politicians if they fail to submit proof of citizenship like a birth certiicate.

“The Comelec has no right to reject a COC submitted to us. As long as all the items are filled out, we will accept it, regardless if the information they provided are not true,” Garcia explained.

This Comelec proposal was a clear response to the ongoing congressional inquiry that is looking into the true citizenship of Guo whose link to the operations of Philippine offshore gaming offices (POGO) has been noted by senators.

Garcia warned Guo that she will face a perjury case should it be discovered that she is not a Filipino citizen as she claimed in her COC.

“The Comelec’s role is only ‘mnisterial’, with aspirting candidates only required to submit accomplished COCs under current laws an jurisprudence,” the Comelec chief explained.

“The Comelec presumes that all the information the candidates put in their COCs are correct until a disqualification or cancellation of candidacy case is filed by a registered voter,” he added.