‘Chinese spy mayor’ wanted by Philippines arrested
A former Philippine mayor, who had been on the run for weeks after being accused of espionage for China, has been arrested in Indonesia.
Philippine authorities have been tracking Alice Guo across four countries since she disappeared in July following an investigation into her alleged criminal activities.
She is accused of protecting online casinos in her quiet pig-farming town, Bamban, which were reportedly fronts for scam operations and human trafficking syndicates.
Ms. Guo denies these allegations. Philippine officials stated that they are working with Indonesian authorities to facilitate her return to the Philippines as soon as possible.
The former mayor claims to have grown up on a family farm with her Chinese father and Filipina mother. However, MPs investigating the scam operations accuse her of being a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping, and allege she acted as a spy providing cover for criminal gangs.
Her case, which has also seen her sister arrested and questioned by the Philippine Senate, has sparked outrage in the country and garnered international attention.
Authorities believe Guo evaded border checks in July, traveling by boat through Malaysia and Singapore before reaching Indonesia, where she was arrested on Tuesday near the western border of Jakarta.
While online casinos or Philippine Online Gaming Operations are not illegal, they are increasingly being exposed as cover for other crimes.
The firms, which mostly cater to mainland Chinese clients, flourished under former president Rodrigo Duterte, who sought close economic and political ties with Beijing.
But Mr Duterte’s successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, reversed the country’s foreign policy direction and has cracked down on Pogo-linked crimes since assuming office in 2022.
