Metro Manila, Philippines – Metro Manila, Philippines – A Pasig court found dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo and seven others guilty of qualified human trafficking over links to an illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub in her Tarlac town.
The Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 167 on Thursday sentenced Guo, Rachelle Malonzo Carreon, Jaimielyn Cruz, and Walter Wong Rong to lifetime imprisonment and imposed a ₱2 million fine for “organizing trafficking” inside the compound owned by Baofu Land Development Inc.
The same sentence was given to co-accused Wang Weili, Wuli Dong, Nong Ding Chang, Lang Xu Po for acts of trafficking. The court ordered them to pay each victim from ₱100,000 to half a million pesos for moral and exemplary damages.
Deputy State Prosecutor Olivia Torrevillas said Guo will be immediately transferred to the women’s correctional after the promulgation.
Torrevillas also said the entire Baofu compound in Bamban worth at least ₱6 billion will be surrendered to the government.
He said involved agencies have yet to decide on the process of properly turning over the compound.
‘Accountability is coming’
Senator Risa Hontiveros hailed the Pasig court’s decision, calling it a “victory against corruption, human trafficking, cybercrime, and many other transnational crimes.”
“To all others who enabled Alice Guo’s criminal empire: the Philippines is not a playground for exploitation, infiltration, and espionage. Accountability is coming. Justice always finds a way,” she said in a statement.
Hontiveros led the Senate committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality in 2024 that investigated the online gaming scam.
She said the legislative probe led to the banning of POGOs and contributed to the passage of the Anti-POGO Law of 2025.
Senator Bam Aquino also lauded the quick resolution of Guo’s case.
“Maganda na mabilis iyong hustisya at naasahan natin na hindi na gagaya iyong ibang mga sindikato kung ganito kabilis iyong hustisya pagdating dito sa isyu ng mga POGO,” he said.
[Translation: It’s good that justice was swift and we hope that other syndicates won’t follow suit if justice is this fast when it comes to POGOs.]
In 2024, Guo was charged with violating the amended Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 and the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2022. She denied the claims and pleaded not guilty.
The dismissed mayor previously made headlines for ties to the Chinese-run online gambling center in Bamban where people were allegedly forced to run scams or risk torture.
The Senate conducted hearings that looked into Guo’s involvement in scam-farm operations in Bamban. Lawmakers also questioned Guo’s nationality after presenting documents that she may be a Chinese national who faked her Philippine documents to evade civil registry, immigration, and election laws.
Guo was arrested in Indonesia and sent back to the Philippines after allegedly fleeing with supposed brother Wesley Guo and his partner Cassandra Ong to Malaysia and Hong Kong.
