Former mayor Alice Guo sentenced to life for human trafficking after running scam centre while posing as Filipina, with 700 victims rescued
MANILA: A Philippine court sentenced former mayor Alice Guo and seven others to life imprisonment for human trafficking on Thursday.
Guo, a Chinese national who masqueraded as a Filipina to become mayor of Bamban town, was convicted of overseeing a Chinese-operated online scam centre.
The complex housed hundreds of workers forced to operate scams under threat of torture.
State prosecutor Olivia Torrevillas confirmed the conviction outside a Manila regional courthouse.
“After over just one year, the court gave us a favourable decision,” Torrevillas told reporters.
A Vietnamese worker’s escape in March 2024 prompted the raid that uncovered the sprawling compound.
Authorities rescued more than 700 victims from multiple countries including Filipinos, Chinese, Vietnamese and Malaysians.
Documents showed Guo served as president of the company owning the compound, according to prosecutors.
The Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission said Guo and three others were convicted of organising trafficking.
Four additional defendants were found guilty of acts of trafficking.
Guo fled to Indonesia after the raid but was arrested by Indonesian police in September 2024.
A Manila court ruled in June that Guo was ineligible for public office as a Chinese citizen.
The transnational scam industry has expanded rapidly across Southeast Asia in recent years.
A UN report estimated regional victims lost up to USD 37 billion to scams in 2023.
President Ferdinand Marcos banned offshore gambling operations in 2024 following public outrage over the case. – AFP