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A Chinese ‘asset’? Philippines raises alarm over mystery mayor suspected of links to Pogos
- Alice Leal Guo, mayor of small town Bamban, was unable to provide details about her early life and background during a senate hearing
- Raid on Philippine offshore gaming operator in Bamban uncovered documents addressed to Guo, who has denied knowledge of Pogo operations
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Alarms have been raised over Alice Leal Guo, the mayor of a small town in the Philippines, due to suspicions about her citizenship and her alleged ties to a controversial offshore gaming operator, with one senator suggesting she might be an undercover agent of China.
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“Is she, along with others like her who have mahiwaga [mysterious] backgrounds, an asset inserted by China into our government to have a heavy influence in Philippine politics?” Senator Risa Hontiveros asked during a press conference on May 8.
Hontiveros’ comments came a day after a senate hearing in which Guo failed to provide details about her early life and background, fuelling suspicions about her links to Zun Yuan Technology Corp, a Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) in the Baofu compound in Bamban, a town northwest of Manila where Guo has been mayor since 2022.
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Investigators have accused Pogos of being involved in human trafficking, cyber scams and possibly hacking and surveillance of government agencies.
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