Embattled Philippine mayor accused of being a Chinese spy suspended

MANILA – The mayor of Tarlac’s Bamban town, a small town in the Philippines, has been ordered to be suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman.

In an order dated May 31, Ombudsman Samuel Martires said there are “sufficient grounds to preventively suspend” Ms Alice Guo and two other town officials, “considering that there is strong evidence showing their guilt”.

Mayor Guo, Municipal Business Permits and Licensing Office officer Edwin Ocampo, and municipal legal officer Adenn Sigua were placed under preventive suspension without pay pending the resolution of a probe against them.

But their suspension must not exceed six months, according to the Ombudsman.

Copies of the order, which granted the plea of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to suspend Ms Guo and other municipal officials, were released to the media on June 3.

The order states that “their continued stay in office may prejudice the investigation of the case filed against them”.

Last week, the DILG filed charges of grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service against the trio for allegedly allowing illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) to do business in Bamban.

DILG Undersecretary Juan Victor Llamas represented the department in the case before the Office of the Ombudsman.

On May 18, Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. announced that the DILG had recommended to the Office of the Ombudsman the preventive suspension of the mayor so she could not influence the probe launched against her.

Mr Abalos said the seven-man DILG task force investigating Ms Guo’s reported link to a Pogo has already submitted its report, which contains “troubling findings of serious illegal acts (that) may have severe legal implications”.

According to the Ombudsman’s order, the DILG alleged that Ms Guo did not cancel or revoke the business permits issued to the Pogo, Zun Yuan Technology.

This is “because of her business interest in Baofu”, although the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) had revoked the licence of the offshore gaming operation franchise, as it was identified as an illegal Pogo.

Zun Yuan Technology runs its business operations in a Bamban compound known as Baofu Land Development, or Baofu for short.

Ms Guo is purportedly the president of Baofu, which purchased eight parcels of land in Bamban in February 2019.

She claims to have divested ownership of Baofu, but the DILG believes the amount she divested it for – 2.5 million pesos (S$57,000) – was “grossly incongruent to her investment in Baofu, which is approximately 8ha of land”.

Ms Guo also gave Baofu a business permit on Oct 25, 2022, despite Pagcor’s cancellation of Zun Yuan’s licence to operate on Oct 6, 2022, according to the Ombudsman’s order.

A Senate panel has also been investigating Ms Guo’s supposed ties with the Pogo, as well as her identity over the possibility that she is a purported Chinese “asset” or spy trained to infiltrate the Philippine government.

Ms Guo has repeatedly denied the accusations against her. PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER/ASIA NEWS NETWORK