Philippine ex-mayor tied to human trafficking still on the run; “Heads will roll,” Marcos vows
Alice Guo is a Chinese national also known as Guo Hua Ping. In 2022, she masqueraded as a Filipina to become mayor of Bamban, Tarlac province. Guo went missing in July after being implicated in crimes at a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO) in the town.
Since her disappearance, Guo has kept moving. Based on reviews of immigration records, the Presidential Anti-Organised Crime Commission (PAOCC) tracked her from Indonesia to Malaysia to Singapore. Most recently, on 18 August, she took a ferry back to Indonesia, which has an extradition treaty with the Philippines.
PAOCC spokesman Winston Casio told a local radio station that authorities can pursue Guo either through extradition or an Interpol red notice. But the latter must follow an arrest warrant; so far, no warrant has been issued for Guo.
On 20 August, Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos vowed to pursue anyone who abetted Guo’s escape.
“Let me be clear: Heads will roll,” Marcos said on social media platform X. “We will expose the culprits who have betrayed the people’s trust and aided in her flight.”
He said Guo’s departure has “laid bare the corruption that undermines our justice system and erodes public trust.”
Guo’s involvement in POGOs under fire
Since their inception in 2016, POGOs have been associated with crimes including online scams, kidnapping and torture. In May, police raided a POGO facility in the farming village of Bamban. Workers freed from the compound claimed to have been victims of human trafficking, forced labour and physical abuse.
A subsequent probe showed Alice Guo was part owner of the POGO land and may have funded the gaming operation with money from China. Shortly thereafter, she was suspended from her position as mayor. Her bank accounts were frozen and her assets seized. She held some 90 bank accounts containing billions of pesos in her name and the names of her business partners. She also owned 12 real estate properties, 12 vehicles and a helicopter.
Alice Guo was summoned to senate hearings on the matter. But she refused to appear, claiming she was the subject of “malicious accusations” and unfair harassment. She then dropped out of sight and has not been seen in the country since.
On 14 August, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) permanently disqualified her from holding office.
Beginning of the end of POGO industry
Outrage over the case spurred Marcos to ban POGOs altogether, saying, “this grave abuse and disrespect of our system must stop.”
Marcos said POGOs had become dens of “financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder”.
He instructed the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) to “wind down and cease the operations of POGOs by the end of the year”.
Who aided in Guo’s getaway?
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian believes Guo could not have escaped without help from friends in high places.
“You have to pass through immigration,” he said. “You have to pass through countless number of CCTVs. She cannot just have (left) without being aided by our own government officials.”
Alice Guo charged with human trafficking
Guo has been charged under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 and the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.
A subpoena has been issued for alleged material misrepresentation in Guo’s certificate of candidacy in the 2022 elections. The former mayor has not yet filed a counter-affidavit. The deadline to do so is 27 August.
Meanwhile her attorney, Stephen David, insists she is still in hiding in the Philippines.