 "This file photo taken on September 9, 2024 shows Alice Guo, former mayor of Bamban in Philippines' Tarlac province, attending a hearing at the Senate in Manila over accusations of human trafficking and links to Chinese organised crime. (AFP)")
A Philippine court on Thursday sentenced Alice Guo, a Chinese national who masqueraded as a Filipina to serve as mayor, along with seven others, to life imprisonment on human trafficking charges, state prosecutors confirmed.
Guo, who held office in a town north of Manila, was found guilty of running a Chinese-operated online gambling hub where hundreds were forced to run scams under threat of torture. The sprawling compound, with office buildings, luxury villas, and a large pool, was raided in March 2024 after a Vietnamese worker escaped and alerted authorities.
More than 700 people from the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Rwanda were discovered at the site, along with documents indicating Guo was president of a company owning the complex.
All eight defendants, some foreign nationals, received life sentences.
“After over just one year, the court… gave us a favourable decision. Alice (Guo) was convicted along with seven other co-accused. Life imprisonment,” State prosecutor Olivia Torrevillas told reporters without naming Guo’s co-defendants because of a confidentiality law.
A spokesman for the Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission told AFP that Guo and three others were convicted of “organising trafficking”, while four more were found guilty of “acts of trafficking.”
Guo, 35, was arrested in Indonesia in September 2024 after fleeing the Philippines. Although elected mayor of Bamban town, a Manila court ruled in June that she was never eligible for the position as a Chinese citizen.
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View AllThe transnational scam industry has surged in Southeast Asia, with victims losing an estimated $37 billion in 2023, according to the United Nations. The centres thrived under former president Rodrigo Duterte, who allowed nationwide licensing. In response to the Guo case, President Ferdinand Marcos banned offshore gambling operations in 2024 and ordered foreign workers removed.