Pasig City Court in the Manila Metropolitan Area of the Philippines ruled on Thursday (November 20th) that former Bamban City Mayor Alice Guo was sentenced to life imprisonment for trafficking in persons, as she was found guilty of participating in the establishment of illegal online gambling and fraud schemes, as well as forcing foreign employees to engage in telecom fraud and illegal gambling activities.
The court stated that Guo, along with seven other Filipino and Chinese co-defendants, were all sentenced to life imprisonment and fined 2 million pesos each (approximately 34,000 US dollars), in addition to being ordered to pay compensation to multiple victims.
Guo, who is 35 years old, originally held Chinese citizenship and obtained Philippine citizenship through forged documents. She was elected as the mayor of Bamban City in 2022. Investigations revealed her close ties to a Chinese-linked Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) group, and her involvement in operating a large-scale fraud area disguised under the guise of a gambling operation.
In March 2024, a Vietnamese victim who escaped reported to the authorities, leading to a police raid on an 8-hectare complex in Bamban City, where more than 700 victims from the Philippines, Vietnam, mainland China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Rwanda were rescued. These individuals were held captive and forced to engage in various fraudulent activities, including scamming tactics, with those who resisted being subjected to abuse.
Documents seized at the complex by the police identified Guo as a key figure in the related companies. Initially denying any involvement and claiming no connection to the complex, she was eventually exposed by parliamentary investigations and media scrutiny, resulting in her removal from the mayor’s office.
Following the outbreak of the fraud scandal, Guo went missing in July 2024, leading to an international arrest warrant. She was apprehended in Indonesia in September of the same year and extradited back to the Philippines. The Philippine government confirmed her fingerprints match those of a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping, and her Philippine passport was declared invalid.
In addition to the trafficking charges, Guo faces at least five other lawsuits, including money laundering and immigration violations, which could lead to additional penalties. She has denied all allegations, and it remains uncertain whether she will appeal the verdict.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, who led the Senate investigation, remarked that Guo’s conviction was a significant victory against corruption, trafficking, cybercrime, and transnational crime, emphasizing that the fight is far from over.
She warned that various fraudulent complexes operated by Chinese nationals could involve activities linked to Chinese intelligence, especially sensitive amid the escalating tensions in the South China Sea between China and the Philippines, as well as Beijing’s opposition to the presence of U.S. forces in the Philippines. Hontiveros pledged to hold accountable all negligent government agencies and continue investigating the scale of Chinese spy networks in the Philippines.
Amid the Guo case outbreak and the South China Sea sovereignty disputes, tensions have risen in Sino-Philippine relations. Several Filipino lawmakers and media outlets have referred to Guo as the “Chinese spy mayor,” while Beijing has remained silent on the matter.
(Adapted from reporting by The Associated Press)