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.