Avito C. Dalan
A former Philippine town mayor who had faced accusations of acting as a Chinese intelligence asset has been convicted of human trafficking for her involvement in operating a large-scale scam complex.
A court on Thursday sentenced her and three associates to life imprisonment, along with a financial penalty of 2 million pesos ($33,832; £25,942).
The case of Alice Guo has captivated national attention for years, following the discovery of one of the Philippines’ largest scam centres in her municipality of Bamban. During a major raid, authorities rescued around 800 people, both Filipinos and foreign nationals, many of whom said they were coerced into conducting so-called “pig butchering” online fraud schemes.
Guo, now 35, had been apprehended last year after weeks on the run. She has rejected all accusations against her, and it remains uncertain whether she intends to lodge an appeal.
She still faces five additional cases, including a charge of money laundering. Guo rose to public office in 2022 when she was elected mayor of Bamban, located north of Manila. Local residents previously told the BBC that she had earned a reputation as a compassionate and approachable public official.
However, in 2024, the quiet community was thrust into national scrutiny after authorities uncovered an enormous scam operation disguised as a network of online gambling businesses known as Philippine Online Gaming Operations (Pogos).
These Pogos primarily serve customers in mainland China, where gambling is banned.
Guo initially insisted she had no awareness of the illicit compound, but a Senate inquiry later questioned how she failed to notice an eight-hectare facility situated close to her own municipal office.
Investigators later revealed that the vast site—which housed 36 separate structures—was built on land previously owned by Guo herself.
They also uncovered inconsistencies in her personal background. Contrary to her earlier claims of being Philippine-born, evidence showed she had in fact migrated from China with her family during her teenage years. Lawmakers later discovered that her fingerprints matched those of a Chinese citizen named Guo Hua Ping.
Following these revelations, she was removed from her post. As more incriminating details surfaced, Guo vanished in July 2024, triggering a multinational manhunt spanning four countries.
She was eventually tracked down and detained in Indonesia in September that same year before being extradited back to the Philippines. Her Philippine passport was subsequently revoked.
Her case has unfolded amid ongoing tensions between Manila and Beijing over contested territories in the South China Sea. Throughout the intense domestic scrutiny and media coverage in the Philippines, China has remained silent on the allegations linked to her activities.
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