A Philippines court has jailed the so-called “POGO mayor” Alice Guo for life after finding her guilty of Qualified Trafficking in Persons.
Guo was one of eight people sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay Php2 million in reparations by the Pasig Regional Trial Court on Thursday for their involvement with illegal offshore gaming hubs. The former mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, was arrested in Indonesia in September 2024 after fleeing the Philippines amid allegations she had aided the illegal activities of POGO firm Zun Yuan Technology Incorporated, whose premises was raided by authorities for allegedly running human trafficking and cryptocurrency scams.
It was also revealed that Guo was in fact a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping.
In a statement, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said it welcomed the life sentence handed down to Guo as both a legal and a moral victory that marks a defining moment in the country’s fight against large-scale trafficking and online scam syndicates.
“The court’s promulgation on 20 November 2025 makes clear that Guo’s power, wealth and public persona were built entirely on human trafficking, online scam operations and a fabricated identity,” the PAOCC said.
“The truth behind Bamban, Tarlac, had been concealed for years until the March 2024 raid uncovered the scale of Guo’s operations. What appeared to be an ordinary agricultural town turned out to be a sprawling 36-building scam hub covering almost 10 hectares. Authorities apprehended hundreds of foreign nationals involved in scams. At the same time, investigators uncovered evidence of human trafficking, ‘pig-butchering’ scam schemes, Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs) being used as a front for illegal operations, cryptocurrency fraud, money laundering and systematic exploitation.”
The Pasig court also ordered the criminal forfeiture of a 7.9-hectare compound owned and operated by one of the illegal operators in question, BAOFU Land Development Inc, comprising 36 buildings valued at Php3.9 billion (US$66 million) and cited as the location where trafficking, illegal gaming, and cyber fraud were carried out.
“The Alice Guo case is a story of a nation that refused to be deceived, of institutions that stood firm and of victims whose voices now echo through every courtroom decision,” said PAOCC Executive Director Undersecretary Benjamin Acorda Jr.
“It is proof that no matter how elaborates the scheme, how powerful the mastermind, or how long the deception, justice will find its way. And when it does, it does more than punish – it restores. No empire built on fraud and exploitation can endure when a nation stands united in truth. The government has prevailed once more, not for itself, but for every victim, every community, and every Filipino who deserves a country safeguarded from those who seek to abuse it. The government will always defend its people. And justice, once awakened, will never be denied.”
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