A Philippine court has handed down a life sentence to Alice Guo, a former mayor accused of being a Chinese national, for her involvement in a large-scale human trafficking and online scam operation. The Pasig City Regional Trial Court in metropolitan Manila convicted Guo and seven other Filipino and Chinese co-accused, imposing a fine of 2 million pesos ($34,000) each and ordering compensation for trafficking victims. Guo, who denies all allegations and claims Filipino citizenship, allegedly facilitated the establishment of an illegal online gaming complex in northern Tarlac province, where hundreds of foreign nationals were forced to conduct financial scams. The court revealed that the operation used parcels of land and buildings to house trafficked workers, coercing them into fraudulent activities. This case highlights the growing issue of online scam centers in Southeast Asia, particularly in border areas like Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, where hundreds of thousands have been trapped in virtual slavery. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has taken steps to combat these operations, banning hundreds of Chinese-run online gaming businesses linked to crimes such as financial scams, human trafficking, and kidnapping. While many centers have been raided and shut down, officials acknowledge that more remain operational. Senator Risa Hontiveros, who led Senate inquiries into the scam operations, hailed Guo’s conviction as a victory against transnational crimes but emphasized that the fight is far from over. Hontiveros also raised concerns about potential espionage activities linked to Chinese nationals operating these centers, amid escalating territorial conflicts between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. Guo, dismissed from her mayoral post last year for grave misconduct, fled to Indonesia but was arrested and deported back to the Philippines, where she remains in detention.
Philippine court convicts dismissed town mayor, allegedly a Chinese, of human trafficking charges
