In the small Philippine town of Bamban, the mayor has gone missing after the Senate ordered her arrest. She was recently suspended due to alleged involvement in illegal activities connected to the offshore gaming industry, POGOs. Officials confirmed that Alice Guo, the mayor of Bamban, has gone into hiding. Police were set to arrest her following accusations of being involved in espionage. Suspicions around Alice Guo arose when scam centres were uncovered in Bamban last March. These illegal centres were disguised within online casinos targeting the Chinese market. POGOs (Philippine Online Gaming Operations) have gained notoriety for being fronts for various illegal activities such as human trafficking, online scams, kidnapping, torture, and murder. In recent years, especially since the end of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s tenure, POGOs have faced increased scrutiny.

POGOs in Bamban

In March, the police rescued 868 individuals described as human trafficking victims from a POGO compound in Bamban, Philippine Islands, that served as a front for a scam centre. The POGO was situated partly on land owned by Mayor Alice Guo. Further investigations revealed that billions of Philippine pesos had been funnelled into 36 bank accounts belonging to Alice Guo. “A significant portion of the funds came from China,” claimed Senator Win Gatchalian, a well-known critic of POGOs.

Chinese spy or love child?

During the investigation into Alice Guo, authorities began questioning her identity. The revealed that she shares fingerprints with a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping. In the Philippines, non-citizens are ineligible for elected office, raising concerns that she may have misrepresented herself. A senator started questioning whether she was a Chinese “asset”. “I want to assure the public: I am not a spy. I am a Filipino and I love my country,” declared Mayor Guo. After failing to explain her birthplace and family background, she finally admitted that she was not a Chinese spy but rather the “love child” of a Chinese father and a Filipina maid. She recounted a difficult upbringing, claiming her mother abandoned her and her father when she was young, leaving them to live on a pig farm where she rarely left due to shame over her illegitimate status. “I had no friends. I had no playmates. I grew up hidden on our farm,” she said.

Where is Alice Guo?

On the day the police arrived to arrest her as ordered by the Senate, Alice Guo had disappeared. Did she leave in the helicopter or the Ford Expedition SUV, both registered under her name but which she claims to have sold long ago? The day the arrest warrant was issued, Alice Guo posted a message on Facebook: “Sorry for not being physically present with each one of you. I miss you all,” adding that her absence would be “temporary.”

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