Alice Guo, a Chinese national who posed as a Philippine national and served as a town mayor, was found guilty of human trafficking Wednesday and sentenced to life in prison.
Guo, also identified by Philippine authorities as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, was elected mayor of the small town of Bamban, Tarlac on 2022, a position she held up until mid-2024 when she was suspended from office amid a graft probe under allegations that she was involved in illegal online gambling operations and human trafficking schemes in Bamban.
At the time, Philippine lawmakers, citing irregularities found in her records and inconsistent statements, called Guo’s purported nationality and identity into question, accusing her of actually being a Chinese citizen serving as a spy for China. Guo denied any criminal links and dismissed the claims of her Chinese origin, claiming that she was a “natural-born Philippine citizen.”
On Thursday, courts found her and seven others guilty of overseeing a Chinese-operated gambling center that local law enforcement raided and dismantled in 2024 — finding more than 700 trafficked workers on site, who were forced to run scams or risk torture. Documentation found during the raid reportedly showed Guo was the president of the company that owned the facility.
“After over just one year, the court… gave us a favorable decision. Alice [Guo] was convicted along with seven other co-accused. Life imprisonment,” state prosecutor Olivia Torrevillas told reporters outside the court.
Alice Leal Guo (C), former mayor of Bamban in Philippine’s Tarlac province accused of human trafficking and links to Chinese organised crime, is escorted to a press conference in Manila on September 6, 2024, after being deported following her arrest in Indonesia. (JAM STA ROSA/AFP via Getty)
“This eagerly awaited ruling is not only a legal victory but also a moral one. It delivers justice to victims, reaffirms the government’s united stance against organised crime,” the Phillipines’ Presidential Anti-Organised Crime Commission (PAOCC) reportedly said in a statement.
PAOCC Executive Director Undersecretary Benjamin Acorda told local outlets that the ruling against Guo is considered a “victory for the victims” of the human trafficking network and not just a triumph for the Philippine government.
“Acorda also stated that Guo’s story is proof that no matter what schemes are used—no matter how powerful the mastermind or how long the deception lasts—justice will always find its way,” Brigada news reported. “He emphasized that no ‘empire’ built on fraud and exploitation can prevail when a nation stands for truth.”
In addition to life in prison, Guo and all other convicted individuals were reportedly ordered to pay a fine of 2 million Philippine peso (roughly $33,877) each per case as monetary reparations to the victims. The raided compound, valued at six billion Philippine peso (roughly $101.632) was forfeited to the government. Guo still faces at least 62 charges of money laundering.
Guo originally fled the Philippines in July 2024 but was arrested in Indonesia and deported back weeks later. In June 2025, a local court ruled that Guo is “undoubtedly Chinese” and rendered her mayoral office null and void under grounds that she faked her citizenship and was thus never eligible for the position to begin with.
Guo’s purported Philippine birth certificate was rendered void in October.
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