Philippine mayor Alice Guo faces allegations of being a Chinese asset amid an investigation into her background and rising geopolitical tensions.
According to Fox News, Alice Guo, mayor of Bamban, Philippines, has come under scrutiny. She is embroiled in grave allegations over her connections. Her suspected role as a Chinese asset unfolds as tensions escalate between China and the Philippines due to territorial disputes.
The investigation follows a raid in March 2024 that revealed an online casino that Guo formerly owned was functioning as a scam hub. This covert operation, with almost 700 employees, over 200 of whom were Chinese nationals, presented itself as an innocent online platform. However, workers at the site disclosed they were coerced into fraudulent acts, fooling people under the pretense of online romance.
President Ferdinand Marcos has shown noticeable concern regarding Mayor Guo's opaque origins and citizenship. "No one knows her. We wonder where she came from," Marcos expressed, adding, "That's why we are investigating this, together with the Bureau of Immigration, because of the questions about her citizenship."
Speaking about her ownership of the land, Mayor Guo asserted that she had sold the property before she began her campaign for mayor. Despite her claims, suspicions continue to linger about her sudden appearance in the political landscape and her registration to vote in Bamban just a year before her election.
At a Senate hearing, Mayor Guo firmly denied her involvement with the shady operations, "I'm not a coddler, not a protector of Pogos." However, her explanation did not suffice to alleviate concerns among the lawmakers. One senator directly questioned her possible connections as a Chinese asset.
Philippine-China relations remain strained largely due to sovereignty issues over the South China Sea. This tension recently intensified with incidents involving Chinese Coast Guard and Philippine vessels.
In a particularly aggressive encounter on March 5, 2024, the Chinese Coast Guard used water cannons against a Philippine vessel at Second Thomas Shoal. Another incident on May 4 saw a Chinese Coast Guard boat proximally maneuver near a Philippine resupply ship, following up from the earlier confrontation. These events reflect ongoing skirmishes that have persisted since 2016, when a UN-backed tribunal dismissed China's historical claims over the sea, a ruling China has steadfastly refused to recognize.
The broader implications of Guo's investigation tie directly into these territorial conflicts, potentially exacerbating diplomatic frictions. Workers from the raided scam center described the cunning nature of their operations in poignant detail. Posing as lovers, they engaged in what is known as a 'pig butchering' scheme, manipulating victims into financial losses under the guise of romantic involvement.
Later, other workers corroborated this narrative, stating at the raid, "...tried to con victims with a 'pig butchering' scam, in which a scammer adopted a fake identity to gain trust and then offered a romantic relationship to manipulate and steal from the victim."
Alice Guo, mayor of Bamban, Philippines, is facing serious allegations of being a Chinese asset amid rising tensions between China and the Philippines over territorial disputes.
The scrutiny intensified after a March 2024 raid on an online casino she once owned, which was found to be a scam hub involving coercive fraudulent activities under the guise of an online romance platform. President Ferdinand Marcos has also raised concerns about Guo's unclear origins and citizenship, further complicating her position amidst these diplomatic frictions.
As investigations continue, the implications for regional stability are significant. The international community is closely observing the development of Guo's case and how it may affect the fraught interactions between China and the Philippines.
