Philippines Jails Former Mayor for Human Trafficking in Illegal Online Scam Network

A Philippine court has sentenced a former mayor to life imprisonment for her role in human trafficking linked to an illegal online gaming operation in northern Tarlac province.

Alice Leal Guo, who officials claim is a Chinese national, and seven other Filipino and Chinese co-accused were also ordered to pay 2 million pesos ($34,000) each and provide compensation to victims of forced labour, the Pasig City Regional Trial Court announced on Thursday.

Guo denies the allegations, maintaining that she is a Filipino citizen. Authorities, however, allege her real identity is Guo Huaping, and that she faked her nationality to run for office in Bamban. The court said she oversaw a sprawling illegal scam compound near the town hall, where hundreds of Chinese and other foreign nationals were forced to conduct fraudulent online activities, including investment scams, romance scams, and illegal gambling.

“They used the parcels of land and buildings to house the trafficked workers and to force them to work as scammers,” the court said.

The case comes amid a crackdown ordered last year by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., targeting hundreds of Chinese-run online gaming operations accused of human trafficking, fraud, torture, and other crimes. Tens of thousands of trafficked workers have been rescued, though authorities say some illegal operations remain.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, who led televised Senate hearings exposing underground scam networks, called the conviction “a victory against corruption, human trafficking, cybercrime and many other transnational crimes.”

While Guo has not faced espionage charges, Philippine authorities have expressed concerns that some operations she and other Chinese nationals ran could have been used for intelligence purposes amid ongoing territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.

Guo was removed from office last year by the Philippine Ombudsman for grave misconduct. She fled the country in July 2024 but was later apprehended in Indonesia and deported to the Philippines, where she has remained in detention since.