The peculiar case of Alice Guo

Bamban Mayor Alice Guo. Photo from Guo’s Facebook page.

MANILA, Philippines — On May 7, a certain mayor in Tarlac was linked to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (Pogo) operations in the area — an already scandalous allegation — and the mayor’s case escalated further amid even more damning accusations involving her nationality.

The peculiar case of Bamban Mayor Alice Guo came into the limelight during a hearing before the Senate panel on women, headed by Senator Risa Hontiveros.

READ: Bamban mayor’s background dubious, says Hontiveros

The panel was initially investigating controversies revolving around Pogo operations in Bamban, Tarlac when Guo was linked to Zun Yuan Technology Incorporated, a Pogo that took over Hongsheng Gaming Technology Incorporated.

Hongsheng was raided in February 2023 and was replaced by Zun Yuan in the same location. It was then again raided in March 2024 for charges of alleged human trafficking and serious illegal detention.

Senator Win Gatchalian, during the hearing, bared Guo’s alleged ties to the firms, citing a billing statement of Zun Yuan and a vehicle seized during the raid, which was registered under her name.

It was also found that Guo filed a Letter of No Objection (LONO) to the municipal council of Bamban for Hongsheng.

The mayor, however, denied having connections with Pogos, claiming that she merely filed the LONO because she used to be an incorporator of Baoufu or the compound where the Pogo firms were located. She then claimed she later sold it right before she became a mayor.

Regarding the vehicle found in the compound, Guo said she used to own it but no longer has it as it was also sold in 2020.

The worst allegations against Guo, however, did not end there.

In the same hearing, Hontiveros grilled Guo about her personal life, which revealed that Guo did not know who her mother was and only knew her father, Jian Zhong Guo (Filipino name: Angelito Guo), with whom she grew up raising hogs.

She also claimed she was homeschooled until high school and never got into college.

When asked who taught her in homeschool, Guo said that she had only had one teacher, Teacher Rubilyn, who she identified as her only teacher.

Hontiveros, meanwhile, pointed out that there was no hospital record of Guo’s birth and that she only got her birth certificate registered in 2005 when she was already 19 years old.

“It catches one’s attention especially because based on our research, there is a similar modus operandi wherein foreigners enter into certain countries. Eventually, they pretend to be locals and then do various tasks — some of which are not desirable,” said Hontiveros.

Hontiveros also sounded off the alarm on the possibility that Guo may even be a Chinese “asset” trained to infiltrate and influence the Philippine government.

READ: Hontiveros won’t let go of Bamban mayor over ties to Pogo

Based on her certificate of candidacy in the 2022 elections obtained from Hontiveros’ office, Guo was born on July 12, 1986.

She also claimed in the certificate to have lived in the country her entire life but has only been living in Bamban for 18 years.

Guo then won the elections as an independent candidate with 16,503 votes, besting her rival by a small margin, barangay chief Joey Salting who received 16,035 votes.

Managing to win on her first political campaign, however, also raised further doubts on her identity.

Apart from managing to win the elections by spending only P134,000, no one also reportedly knew of her before she became mayor of Bamban.

READ: Guo claims only P134K spent for 2022 campaign

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself recently stated that no one among Tarlac’s local politicians had heard of Guo before her winning the 2022 elections.

Investigation ongoing

Apart from the Senate probe, the Office of the Solicitor General announced that it has already organized a team to determine if Guo has the legal right to hold a public position.

The House of Representatives had also expressed conducting a parallel probe against Guo.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec), for its part, said that Guo may face perjury charges should her alleged foreign roots be proven to be true.

Poll body chief George Garcia said that under the law, only Filipino citizens may run for mayoralty in the country — either natural born or naturalized citizens.

But Garcia explained that the Comelec does not require a candidate any other requirements to prove their age or citizenship, apart from their sworn oath upon filing their COC.

READ: Bamban, Tarlac mayor may face perjury raps over citizenship issue

Additionally, with only being imbued with ministerial powers, the Comelec cannot deny a candidate’s COC without a disqualification or cancellation case filed by another registered voter.

The Senate panel on women will hold its next hearing on Guo’s case on Wednesday, May 22.