An ex-mayor from the Philippines, Alice Guo, has sparked outrage after fleeing the country while facing accusations of espionage for China and connections to criminal syndicates.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed anger on Wednesday, declaring that “heads will roll” following revelations that Guo had left the Philippines undetected a month ago and traveled through Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.
Guo, who has been out of public view since July, was under investigation by a Senate panel for her alleged involvement with scam centers and online casinos.
The panel had ordered her arrest for defying its inquiry. She is accused of permitting human trafficking rings and scam centers to operate under the guise of online casinos in her town.
Senators also suspect her of being a Chinese operative, citing her vague responses about her Chinese heritage.
The Philippines’ Bureau of Immigration reported that Guo left the country illegally, bypassing border checks, and that her departure was discovered through intelligence sources.
President Marcos has vowed to “expose the culprits who have betrayed the people’s trust and aided in her flight” and has ordered the cancellation of her Philippine passport.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, who has been leading the investigation into scam centers since May, criticized the immigration failure, calling it “unacceptable” and denouncing Guo as a “fake Filipino.”
Guo’s scrutiny began in March when authorities uncovered a massive scam center and human trafficking ring in her town of Bamban, north of Manila.
These operations were reportedly hidden within Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogo) firms on land owned by Guo’s family. While Pogos are legal, they have increasingly been linked to other crimes.
Guo, who had no prior public office experience before being elected mayor in 2022, claimed to have grown up on her family’s pig farm in Bamban.
The Pogo industry, which caters primarily to mainland Chinese clients, expanded significantly under former president Rodrigo Duterte, who fostered strong economic ties with Beijing.
However, President Marcos has shifted the country’s foreign policy and cracked down on Pogo-related crimes since taking office in 2022.
The Philippines is also experiencing heightened nationalist sentiment amid ongoing disputes with China over the South China Sea.
Earlier this week, fresh accusations of ship ramming between Manila and Beijing further strained relations over the resource-rich waters.
Source-BBC
