Guo, 3 others guilty of human trafficking

The Pasig City Regional Trial Court has convicted dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo — originally Chinese national Guo Hua Ping — of qualified trafficking for her role in an illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in the town.

The court sentenced her and three co-accused to reclusión perpetua or life imprisonment (40 years) and to pay a P2-million fine. 

Guo, Rachelle Malonzo Carreon, Jaimielyn Cruz and Walter Wong Rong were found guilty of facilitating the large-scale POGO operation run by Zun Yuan Technology on a property owned by Baofu Land Development Inc., a firm linked to Guo through her leasing business. 

The case stemmed from a raid last year by the Philippine National Police and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission on the hub where hundreds of workers were allegedly forced to run cyber scams under threat of torture. 

The court likewise ordered the forfeiture of the Baofu compound, the site of the alleged trafficking operations.

POGOs once generated billions in revenue but became associated with kidnapping, cyber fraud, and human trafficking. 

Following a surge in criminal cases and spying concerns, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered a nationwide POGO ban in 2024, directing government agencies to dismantle their operations and to prosecute officials enabling the syndicates.

Guo did not physically appear at Thursday’s promulgation but attended via videoconference. The Pasig court earlier rejected her attempt to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence. 

She also faced separate legal setbacks: the Ombudsman dismissed her from her post for grave misconduct, while the Manila RTC voided her entire mayoral term after ruling that the identities “Alice Leal Guo” and “Guo Hua Ping” referred to the same Chinese national. 

Former Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr., who led the operation to bring Guo home from Indonesia where she had fled last year, welcomed the ruling. 

“Today’s judgment shows that the months of work tracking her down did not go to waste,” he said. Abalos and then PNP chief Francisco Marbil coordinated with Indonesian officials after Guo resurfaced in Jakarta following months in hiding. 

The National Bureau of Investigation, which handled the case through Task Force Guo, called the decision a milestone in the government’s campaign against trafficking rings tied to POGO hubs. 

“No network is too sophisticated, no operation too well-funded, and no position too powerful to escape accountability,” NBI Officer-in-Charge Angelito Magno said. 

Senator Risa Hontiveros, who spearheaded the Senate inquiry that first exposed Guo’s  Chinese identity and her connection to organized POGO syndicates, said the verdict was a victory for the victims. 

She said the inquiry helped with the passage of the Anti-POGO Law of 2025 and the  presidential order banning POGOs.  She thanked the victims and whistleblowers who “found the courage to testify.” 

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian lauded the conviction as “a big win for the Filipino people,” saying it affirmed the rule of law and strengthened the country’s campaign against online scams and the remaining POGO operators.