New evidence links Alice Guo to Chinese espionage in the Philippines, raising alarms

With Guo accused of soliciting funds from a gaming kingpin and confessed Chinese ‘asset’, concerns grow over foreign infiltration via Pogos

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Alice Guo attends a Philippine Senate hearing last month. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:00pm, 1 Oct 2024

A high-stakes congressional investigation into a web of criminal enterprises across the Philippines took a dramatic turn with new evidence linking infamous former mayor Alice Guo to Chinese espionage operations, raising alarms about foreign infiltration and election interference.

Once the mayor of Bamban town, Guo fled to Indonesia amid criminal allegations and questions regarding her citizenship, but was extradited to Manila last month. Now, she faces intense scrutiny from Senator Risa Hontiveros, who is leading the inquiry into criminality linked to the controversial Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogos).

During a hearing on Friday, Guo was confronted with an Al Jazeera documentary featuring Cambodian-Chinese betting kingpin She Zhijiang, currently imprisoned in Thailand for running illegal online gambling operations.

In the film, She claimed to be a Chinese “asset” and alleged that Guo had solicited funds from him for her 2022 mayoral campaign. He presented a dossier identifying Guo as Guo Hua Ping, a Chinese national connected to the Communist Party in Fujian province.

Police keep watch outside a court in Metro Manila during a scheduled appearance by Alice Guo on September 20. Photo: EPA-EFE

Visibly shaken, Guo vehemently denied the accusations, declaring in rapid Filipino, “I am not a spy,” and insisting she had never met She or sought money from him.