A YouTube video has misrepresented an interview of a Bamban, Tarlac resident as Bamban Mayor Alice Guo’s mother, falsely claiming that she has come forward to prove her daughter’s Philippine citizenship.
Amid the Senate’s ongoing investigation on Guo’s nationality, PH SHOWBIZ UPDATE uploaded on May 23 a video of a woman and made it appear to be an interview with Guo’s alleged mother with the headline:
NAGSALITA NA MOTHER NI MAYOR ALICE GUO (Mayor Alice Guo’s mother has finally spoken)
In the clip, the woman said:
Kung ilang taon na siya, eh sagot niya sakin, 14 years old pa lang siya. Pero ngayon, nagtitinda na ako, 22 years na dito. Syempre nalulungkot din, mabait naman siya eh (On how old she is, she told me that she was just 14 years old. But now, I’ve been selling here for 22 years. Of course, it makes me sad, she’s quite nice).
On the 0:18 mark, the video also narrated:
Nagsalita na ang umano’y biological mother ni Alice Guo at handa raw nilang patunayan na si Mayor Alice ay isang totoong Pilipino at hindi daw ito umano espiya ng anumang bansa (The alleged biological mother of Alice Guo has spoken and is ready to prove that Mayor Alice is a true Filipino and not a spy of any country).
However, a reverse image search shows that the 11-second snippet is from ABS-CBN News’ TV Patrol’s May 15 interview with Bamban resident Corazon Sablan who claimed that Guo’s family had been living in the Philippines long before she was elected mayor. The original statement was:
Tinatanong ko siya kung ilang taon na siya, eh sagot niya sakin, 14 years old pa lang siya. Pero ngayon, nagtitinda na ako, 22 years na (siya) dito. Meron ding mga kasama, kaso … yung mga kapatid niya, papa niya, mama niya — kaya kilala ko yung mama niya, papa niya. Matagal ko nang kilala si mayora, syempre nalulungkot din. Mabait naman siya eh (When I asked her how old she is, she told me that she was just 14 years old. But now, I’ve been selling here for 22 years. She also came with people but … her siblings, father, and mother — that’s why I know her mother and father. I’ve known the mayor for a long time, of course it makes me sad. She’s quite nice).
A comparison with the original video shows that besides being cropped and mirrored, the clip was spliced to falsely portray Sablan as Guo’s mother attempting to prove her nationality.
The video surfaced after senators Risa Hontiveros and Sherwin Gatchalian questioned the existence of Guo’s alleged biological mother during a Senate hearing, two days after the mayor attempted to prove her Filipino citizenship by claiming in an official statement that she was the daughter of a Filipino housekeeper, Amelia Leal,.
Philippine Statistics Authority Legal Director Eliezer Ambatali said Leal might not exist at all as she had no official public records, including records of birth in their Civil Registry System.
PH SHOWBIZ UPDATE’s video has garnered 265,218 views, 1,531 comments and over 4,200 likes as of writing.
Created in June 2022, the channel has garnered 37,902,632 views and over 205,000 subscribers, and has been shared by the Facebook Page PH News HD TV to its over 86,000 followers. (EM)
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