Former mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, Alice Guo was found guilty of qualified human trafficking. The Pasig RTC Branch 167 imposed life imprisonment on her and seven other associates.
The ruling showed that Guo's punishment was life imprisonment, a sentence under Special Laws that have no fixed sentence length. The court also ordered the cancellation of the registrations of the companies Baofu Land, Hongsheng Gaming, and Zun Yuan Technology.
Those convicted of organizing trafficking include Jaimielyn Santos Cruz, Rachelle Malonzo Carreon, and Walter Wong Rong. In acts of trafficking, Wang Weili, Wuli Dong, Nong Ding Chang, and Lang Xu Po were convicted. Eight of the accused were acquitted, according to the PAOCC.
The case came to light after the discovery of illegal POGO operations in Bamban, where hundreds of foreigners and Filipinos were forced to engage in online scams and threatened with torture. The compound was raided in March 2024 after a Vietnamese worker escaped. Investigation revealed that Guo was the president of the company that owns the place.
Guo was arrested in September 2024 in Indonesia after fleeing. In June, a court in Manila ruled that he was a Chinese citizen, and therefore ineligible to run for mayor. Due to growing public anger, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. banned offshore gambling operations in the country.
