Former ‘Chinese mayor’ Alice Guo gets life sentence for running scam centre in Philippines

A court in Philippines has sentenced a former mayor to life in jail for her role in operating a major scam centre in the Southeast Asian country.

Alice Guo, ex-mayor of the agricultural town of Bamban located north of the capital Manila, was found guilty of human trafficking and sentenced on Thursday along with seven other people who also received life terms.

Guo ran for mayor as a Filipino citizen but was later identified by law enforcement as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping. Guo had denied links to criminals and insisted she was a born Philippine national.

The case against Guo glued millions of Filipinos to their TVs last year after authorities raided a sprawling scam centre, known as the Baofu compound, in her small town of Bamban. The complex, which had hidden tunnels, buildings, luxury villas, and a large swimming pool, was raided after a Vietnamese worker escaped and alerted police.

The centre targeted foreigners, who were forced to run scams at the threat of torture.

Authorities found around 800 people from seven countries, including Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Rwanda, as well as documents allegedly listing Guo as president of the firm that owned the compound.

Guo, who authorities accuse of having ties to Chinese criminal syndicates, fled the Philippines in 2024 but was arrested in Indonesia later that year after her case sparked an outcry. It led to renewed scrutiny of offshore gaming operations, locally known as Philippine Online Gaming Operations, or Pogo.

There was no immediate comment from Guo or her lawyers about her sentencing.

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A spokesperson for the Philippine Anti-Organised Crime Commission said Guo and three fellow accused were convicted of “organising trafficking” inside the compound while the other four were found guilty of acts of trafficking.

"This eagerly awaited ruling is not only a legal victory but also a moral one. It delivers justice to victims, reaffirms the government's united stance against organised crime," the commission said in a statement.

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The verdict comes as leaders across Southeast Asia are sounding alarm over a rise in cyber crimes and scam centres targeting foreigners. Last month, leaders of the Asean bloc vowed to work together to stop criminals from using their territories as “shelter and criminal hub”.

Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr signed a law last month banning offshore gaming operators, cementing a policy that he first unveiled last year following Guo’s case.