A Philippine court has sentenced a former municipal mayor to life imprisonment after convicting her of human trafficking tied to a large-scale online scam operation. The defendant, Alice Guo, was found to be a Chinese citizen who had falsely claimed Filipino nationality to secure public office.
The conviction follows a 2024 police raid on a sprawling compound in Bamban town, north of Manila, which housed the illicit operation. Authorities discovered over 700 individuals from multiple countries, including the Philippines, China, and Vietnam, who were reportedly forced to conduct online scams under threat of torture.
Prosecutors presented evidence indicating Guo was the president of the company that owned the facility. The court found her and seven co-defendants guilty on trafficking charges. A state prosecutor confirmed the life sentences, citing convictions for both organizing and committing acts of human trafficking.
Guo, who was arrested in Indonesia after fleeing the Philippines, had previously been disqualified from her mayoral post by a judicial ruling that confirmed her ineligibility as a foreign national.
The case has drawn significant attention to the issue of transnational scam centers in the region, which have been linked to billions in annual financial losses globally. In response to public outcry surrounding this and similar operations, the Philippine government has since moved to ban offshore gambling activities and ordered the deportation of foreign nationals involved.