Alice Guo, 13 others slapped with human trafficking complaint
Authorities led by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) filed a criminal complaint against suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo and 13 others for their alleged ties to a raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator hub involved in alleged human trafficking and scams.
GMA News reported that in the complaint filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ), Guo—along with former Technology and Livelihood Resource Center deputy director general Dennis Cunanan and others—were charged with violation of Sections 4 (Acts of Trafficking in Persons) and 6 (Qualified Trafficking in Persons) of Republic Act 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, as amended by RA 10364 and further amended by RA 11862.
Qualified trafficking typically leads to life imprisonment and is non-bailable.
Respondents include Guo's alleged business partner Huang Zhiyang, a fugitive in China, as well as Zhang Ruijin and Baoying Li, who are both involved in the biggest money laundering case in Singapore.
Guo was also referred to as "Guo Hua Ping" in the complaint. The name was floated by Sen. Win Gatchalian based on a Chinese passport and Special Investors Resident Visa from the Board of Investments and the Bureau of Immigration.
“What was filed today is still only a complaint. It will still go through a process in the DOJ. It will still undergo a preliminary investigation, wherein the respondents, including Mayor Alice Guo, will be allowed to state their side,” DOJ Usec. Nicky Ty, who also sits as the chairman of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, said in a press conference.
“The complaint is not yet in court. This will still undergo a process, and we don’t want to get ahead of the prosecutors, who will independently conduct their preliminary investigation,” he noted.
Ty also said they're processing the Immigration Lookout Bulletin against Guo and others to monitor their movements, but not necessarily prohibit their departure from the country. Nevertheless, Guo cannot leave without a travel authority as a public official.
He noted that pieces of evidence include Guo's name appearing in a letter of no objection from the local government (of Bamban), as well as several documents found in Zun Yuan Technology Incorporated inside the Baofu compound.
"Lumabas din ang kanyang involvement doon sa lesser company," he added.
Prosecutor Benjamin Samson, meanwhile, believes Cunanan is part of a "grand conspiracy" to commit labor trafficking.
“We discovered that the Zun Yuan operation actually started with one corporation which was Baofu, and then another corporation was created," Samson said. "In one of the corporations, we found a document wherein the name of Mr. Dennis Cunanan appeared."
Sen. Risa Hontiveros previously showed documents in which Cunanan introduced himself as the "authorized representative" for the Hong Sheng POGO in Bamban and the Lucky South POGO in Porac.
Guo denies the allegations
Guo, in a statement released later in the day, shut down the said claims, noting that “mere connections to companies or individuals do not suffice as grounds for labeling someone a conspirator.
"Having connections to companies or individuals, especially when vague, is not enough to link someone to a case, particularly one involving human trafficking," she said.
Guo emphasized that she's not in any way involved with Zun Yuan Technology, Inc. or any other POGO hubs in the Philippines.
She also said she's confident that there is not enough evidence to support the accusations against her.
Guo has been subject to scrutiny since she was allegedly linked to Hongsheng Gaming Technology Incorporated, which was raided in February 2023, and Zun Yuan Technology Incorporated, which was raided in March this year.
She was questioned why she was supposedly unaware of such alleged illegal activities. In the Senate hearing, she was asked about her background to confirm her nationality, especially since she currently holds a high post in the local government.
Senators also noted that according to Bamban residents, the mayor came out of nowhere during the 2022 elections. They speculated that Guo could be a Chinese spy infiltrating the Philippine government.
Guo has since maintained that she's Filipino and has denied having ties to POGOs in Bamban and being a Chinese spy. She also said that she was raised on the farm of her father, was homeschooled, and that her maid of a mother left her.
But as weeks passed, authorities discovered discrepancies in several documents involving Guo, as well as holes in her stories.
Early this month, the Office of the Ombudsman preventively suspended Guo following a graft complaint from the Department of Interior and Local Government.