In the province of Tarlac, Bamban City in the Philippines, the former Chinese-Filipino mayor, Alice Guo, and several of her relatives are facing a total of 70 criminal charges. Guo was apprehended last year while fleeing to Indonesia. The Philippine court previously ruled that Guo’s true citizenship is Chinese, rendering her position as mayor invalid.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in the Philippines announced on Thursday that they have filed 70 criminal charges against Alice Guo, the former Chinese-Filipino mayor of Bamban City, Tarlac, and several relatives. The charges include forgery of documents and violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
In June, the Manila court ruled that Guo and her parents are all Chinese citizens. According to reports from the Philippine Business Mirror and the Philippine Star, the NBI confirmed on October 2 that her relative, Sheila Leal Guo, also holds Chinese citizenship. The Philippine authorities accuse the Guo family of falsely claiming Filipino citizenship to establish businesses and acquire real estate in Marialou City, Wuligangan Province.
The NBI investigation revealed that Alice Guo, Sheila, and Siemen Guo were listed as the founders of six companies, including QJJ Group, QSeed Genetics, and QJJ Slaughterhouse, all registered at the same address on Maligaya Street in the Patabig District of Marialou City. The three individuals identified themselves as Filipinos in the company registration documents to ensure majority ownership.
Guo Jian Zhong and Lin Wen Yi, who were also co-founders of the companies, are implicated in the case.
The NBI listed multiple charges against Alice Guo and her relatives, including 30 counts of falsifying public documents, 30 counts of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, 4 counts of forgery of public documents, and an additional 6 counts of forging documents against Alice Guo.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, Guo’s birth certificate was declared invalid by the court on September 24.
Alice Guo is currently detained at the Baxi City jail on various charges, including money laundering, human trafficking, corruption, obstruction of justice, forgery of documents, and perjury.
Claiming to be “Alice Guo,” a Chinese-Filipino mixed race, she was elected as the mayor of Bamban City, Tarlac in May 2022.
In March 2024, Philippine authorities raided a casino in Bamban City. Law enforcement officials stated that on some of the land owned by Alice Guo, an offshore gambling den primarily catering to Chinese nationals was built. Nearly 700 enslaved workers were rescued, including over 200 Chinese and 3 Taiwanese individuals.
Subsequently, Alice Guo repeatedly missed Senate hearings in the Philippines and became a fugitive. On July 12, 2024, the Senate signed arrest warrants for her and her family. Guo fled the country and was captured in Indonesia in September of the same year, then extradited back to Manila.
Alice Guo is also accused of being a spy for the Chinese Communist Party.
In a documentary aired by Al Jazeera’s investigative program 101 East last year, they featured the story of Chinese fugitive She Zhijiang who was detained in Thailand. She Zhijiang mentioned in the documentary that he was recruited by the CCP for espionage activities in the Philippines at the end of 2016. He also claimed that Alice Guo worked for the Chinese Ministry of State Security.
She Zhijiang, founder of the “Myanmar Asia-Pacific International Smart Industrial New City” project under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, was arrested by the Thai government in Bangkok in August 2022 and is currently detained in Thailand.
During an investigation, the Philippine House of Representatives played Al Jazeera’s documentary, where Alice Guo denied knowing She Zhijiang. However, Senator Risa Hontiveros, who was leading the investigation, expressed disbelief in Alice Guo’s statements.