Chinese ‘Fake Mayor’ in Philippines Sentenced to Life for Human Trafficking

A Philippine court has sentenced a Chinese woman who masqueraded as a Filipino and even rose to become a town mayor to life in prison for human trafficking — ending one of the country’s most bizarre and politically charged criminal sagas in years.

Alice Guo, 35, and seven co-defendants were convicted on Thursday for running a massive Chinese-operated gambling and cyber-scam complex north of Manila, where hundreds of workers from across Asia and Africa were trapped and forced to carry out online fraud schemes.

“After just over one year, the court gave us a favourable decision,” state prosecutor Olivia Torrevillas told reporters outside the Pasig Regional Trial Court. “Alice Guo was convicted along with seven other co-accused. Life imprisonment.”

Guo, arrested in Indonesia in September 2024 after fleeing the country, was found guilty of “organising trafficking,” along with three others. The remaining four defendants were convicted of “acts of trafficking,” the Philippine Anti-Organised Crime Commission said.

Police discovered the scam hub in March 2024 after a Vietnamese worker escaped and alerted authorities. Inside, officers found a sprawling complex of offices, luxury villas, and a swimming pool — plus more than 700 people from the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Rwanda. Documents tied Guo directly to the company that owned the property.

Though she had been elected mayor of Bamban, the town where the operation was based, a Manila court ruled earlier this year that Guo was never eligible to hold office, declaring her a Chinese citizen who had illegally bypassed civil registry and election laws. Her entire mayoral administration was voided.

Politicians accused Guo of being “an asset of the Chinese government,” suggesting her infiltration into Philippine politics may have gone beyond corruption into espionage. The Chinese embassy in Manila did not comment.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, who led the Senate probe that helped uncover the scandal, called the verdict “a victory against corruption, human trafficking, cybercrime, and many other transnational crimes.”

“We will continue to demand accountability from every government agency that failed in their duties,” she said. “The Philippines is not a playground for exploitation, infiltration, and espionage. Accountability is coming.”