Alice Guo Biography
Alice Leal Guo (Chinese: 郭華萍) is a businesswoman and politician in the Philippines, serving as mayor of the municipality of Bamban, Tarlac, since June 30, 2022.
Senators Risa Hontiveros and Win Gatchalian accused Guo of being involved in illegal operations by Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) following raids in Bamban in 2023 and 2024.
Her Filipino citizenship has also been questioned and is currently being investigated due to anomalies in her paperwork and evidence.
Alice Guo Profile
| Mayor of Bamban, Tarlac | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Incumbent | |||
| Assumed office June 30, 2022 | |||
| Preceded by | Jose Antonio Feliciano | ||
| Vice Mayor | Leonardo Anunciacion | ||
| Personal details | |||
| Political party | NPC (2023–present) | ||
| Other political affiliations | Independent (until 2023) | ||
| Occupation | Businesswoman, politician | ||
| Chinese name | |||
| Traditional Chinese | 郭華萍 | ||
| Simplified Chinese | 郭华萍 | ||
| |||
Alice Guo’s Personal Life
Details about Guo’s early life and educational background are contested. Guo claims she was born on July 12, 1986, to a Chinese-Filipino father and a Filipino mother in her home, the location of which she does not recollect, or in the then-municipality of Tarlac.
There are discrepancies surrounding Guo’s father’s nationality (born in 1953 or 1954), as his birth certificate classified him as a Filipino named Angelito Guo, but his business paperwork listed him as a Chinese national named Jian Zhong Guo.
She claimed to be her father’s child, born out of wedlock with their housemaid, who abandoned her as a baby.
As a result, she did not grow up with her mother and was raised carefully by his father on a pig farm in Tarlac City, where she lived alone.
In addition, an old article on Bamban’s official website showed Guo addressing Patrizia Josephine Nuguid Santos, a public relations expert who has worked for her since 2022, as her mother in greeting. However, onlookers detected a lack of likeness between them, implying their non-family affiliation.
Some Bamban residents, notably those from barrio Virgen de los Remedios, claim that Guo grew up there and that she has a sister.
Guo also claims that her family bred pigs for a living and that she grew up on a farm.
Her company registration papers show that she claimed residency in Marilao, Bulacan, and Valenzuela, Metro Manila, claiming her parents’ embroidery business in the latter.
However, it was determined that no such firm existed, and her listed home location in Valenzuela belonged to a certain Baile family, according to Senator Win Gatchalian
Guo revealed during a joint Philippine Senate Committee probe that she was homeschooled.
However, her birth was not registered until she was 17 years old.
This delay raised questions about her early upbringing, given the lack of hospital birth documents and her inability to name her homeschool provider.
The lack of standard school records sparked questions about the nature of her education, especially whether she attended college.
Her failure to recall aspects of her birth and early life during the Senate probe became subject to internet ridicule, resulting in her being called My Amnesia Girl (a locally-produced film from 2010) in a famous meme.
Guo’s Certificate of Candidacy for Mayor filed before the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) in 2021, said that she was single and claimed lifelong residency in the Philippines, having lived at her registered address in Bamban for 18 years.
It was revealed that she registered as a Bamban voter in April 2021, just 13 months before the 2022 general elections, but COMELEC official John Rex Laudiangco stated that she registered in 2018.
She also claimed to have possessed a Philippine passport, the only one she possesses, since she was 17 to 19 years old.
Alice Guo Political Career
Guo filed her certificate of candidacy for municipal mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, as an independent candidate in October 2021. She chose former Mayor Leonardo Anunciacion as her campaign companion for vice mayor.
During the 2022 election campaign, she endorsed Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte for president and vice president, respectively.
Her campaign expenses topped ₱134,000.
In 2024, she revealed that she had backing from her friends as well as the “previous administration” during the campaign.
Guo won the mayoralty campaign in May 2022 with 16,503 votes, defeating her closest challenger, Anupul barangay leader Joey Salting, who garnered 16,035 votes in the seven-way fight.
When she took office on June 30, 2022, she launched several projects, including the Barangayan, which provides free medical, dental, and paperwork services, as well as rabies vaccines for dogs and cats.
Guo joined the Nationalist People’s Coalition in the third quarter of 2023 after Bamban was awarded the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Alice Guo Business Career
Before entering politics, Guo had an extensive career as a businesswoman, serving as an incorporator and having major ownership in at least 11 companies since 2010, according to Securities and Exchange Commission data.
“I am a love child, not a Chinese spy,” the mayor claims
A mayor of a tiny farming town in the Philippines has stated that she is a “love child” and not a spy for China.
Mayor Alice Guo, who is under investigation for criminal activities, was unable to answer questions about her family history and upbringing during a Senate session.
This prompted one lawmaker to question whether she was an “asset” for Beijing.
“I’d like to inform the public that I am not a spy. “I am a Filipino, and I love my country,” Ms Guo told ABS-CBN News on Monday night.
She also confessed that she was her Chinese father’s “love child” with his Filipina maid.
Her apology came after weeks of heated social media criticism, including memes mocking her forgetfulness about personal information and alleged ties to China.
President Ferdinand Marcos joined in, expressing his worry.
Ms Guo is under investigation after officials determined that an online offshore casino in her hometown of Bamban was a front for a scam operation.
Her case is developing at a particularly tense time for Manila and Beijing, who are feuding over reefs and outcrops in the resource-rich South China Sea.
Ms Guo said her mother abandoned her when she was a baby, and she grew up with her father on their piggery compound in Tarlac, a rural province north of Manila.
“I’m my father’s love child with a maid…” This is a very private topic. “I can’t just tell anyone that my mother abandoned me,” she explained.
She apologized to senators for failing to adequately explain her parentage during the testimony because “my mind just went blank.”
I didn’t have any buddies or playmates
During the Senate hearing, Ms Guo revealed that her birth certificate was registered when she was 17 years old. She claimed to have been born at home rather than in a hospital. She also claimed to have been homeschooled, but could not provide more information.
Doubts were raised when it was discovered that she registered to vote in Bamban town in 2021, the year before she was elected mayor.
Ms Guo claimed she was ashamed of her illegitimacy, which is why she stayed mostly within the family’s pig farm.
I had no friends. I didn’t have any playmates. “I grew up hidden in our farm,” she explained.
But as she entered her late teens, she said she became interested in her father’s business. She stated that she would acquire corn from adjacent Tarlac villages to prepare hog feed.
Aside from the few data regarding her birth and education, parliamentarians questioned how Ms Guo could be unaware of the nefarious activities taking place beneath the offshore casino.
These are known as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (Pogos).
The Pogo that provided cover for the gangs in Bamban was built on land partially owned by Ms Guo, although she stated that she sold her stake before her election in 2022.
Last March, authorities stormed the facility and freed nearly 700 employees, including 202 Chinese citizens and 73 other foreigners who were compelled to act as online lovers.
The eight-hectare estate resembled a tiny city, replete with a supermarket, warehouse, swimming pool, and even a wine cellar. Workers at the fraud center worked on rows and rows of long white tables equipped with computers.
Pogos thrived under Rodrigo Duterte, whose presidency, which ended in 2022, was distinguished by close connections to China.
However, under current President Ferdinand Marcos, Pogos has come under more scrutiny after it was discovered that some of them were utilized as fronts for human trafficking and online scam operations.
Ms Guo was also discovered to have a helicopter and a Ford Expedition registered in her name, which she claims were sold long ago, just like the land.
Ms Guo was asked about a viral photo of herself with a McLaren sports car during her Monday television interview.
She stated that the McLaren was loaned by a friend for a showcase at a town fiesta.
Ms Guo also stated that she was not involved in the Pogo or human trafficking and scam centers.
“I am not very powerful. I’m just a normal citizen from a second-class municipality. “I don’t have those types of connections,” she explained.
President Ferdinand Marcos has directed officials to check Ms. Guo’s citizenship and ensure that foreigners are not permitted to hold public office.
“I have heard that I will be deported. My mother abandoned me. Now, will my own country deport me? She said.
She said that she would run for re-election next year. Mayors in the Philippines can serve three consecutive three-year terms.
“I won’t resign. “I will continue to serve my constituents,” she stated.
Alice Guo Alleged links to POGOs
Senator Win Gatchalian discovered Guo’s suspected links to Zun Yuan Technology, Inc., an online gambling company licensed in the Philippines as a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO).
Before her election in 2022, Guo requested a license for Hongsheng Gaming Technology, Inc., which the city government granted in late 2020 for establishment and operation.
Hongsheng’s license to operate was canceled by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) in 2022.
The POGO hub, located behind the municipal building in Barangay Anupul, Bamban, and owned by Baofu Land Development, Inc., was raided twice by authorities: in February 2023, for alleged involvement in cryptocurrency investment scams; and in March 2024, for alleged human trafficking and other cybercrimes; at the time, it had been renamed Zun Yuan.
During a Senate inquiry in May 2024, legislators claimed that the POGO facility housed “mercenaries” reportedly involved in hacking and spying activities, citing intelligence sources.
Meanwhile, Guo denied the claims against her, claiming that she was the former landowner of the property and that her vehicle, discovered within the compound, was sold in 2020.
Guo asserted that, as one of the incorporators of Baofu, she later sold her shares after entering politics.
Senator Risa Hontiveros suggested during the investigation that Guo could be a Chinese “asset” trained to infiltrate the Philippine government and “influence Philippine politics”.
In response to the claims, Guo expressed dismay, claiming that she had been “judged prematurely” through a trial by publicity.
Guo emphasized that she was “not a coddler, not a protector of POGOs”, adding in a following interview by Karen Davila that she had been shaken by senators’ probes into her private life and was opposed to POGOs.
On May 16, 2024, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra claimed he selected a “team of solicitors” to investigate if Guo is illegally “holding or exercising a public office” as prefatory to quo warranto under Rule 66 of the Revised Rules of Court.
In an updated report published on May 17, the Department of the Interior and Local Government suggested that Guo be suspended by the Ombudsman based on “troubling findings” discovered during its probe into her alleged connections to POGOs.
However, Ombudsman Samuel Martires informed 24 Oras that his office had obtained a copy of the DILG’s unsigned task force’s fact-finding report.
In effect, the Ombudsman remanded Guo’s case, implying that the DILG should file a genuine criminal complaint with accompanying legal documentation for Guo’s criminal investigation before the preventative suspension.
Some members of the House of Representatives have also voiced a desire to begin a parallel investigation into Guo.
It also suggested that Guo be temporarily relieved of her power over the Bamban municipal police force while she is suspended.
In response, Guo indicated she would not retire and would instead seek reelection as mayor in local elections set for 2025.
President Bongbong Marcos also supported an investigation, stating that she had been under investigation by authorities for some time and was unknown to most Tarlac politicians.
In an apparent effort to refute Marcos’ claims that “no one knows her,” photos from Guo’s Facebook and other social media profiles resurfaced, showing Guo and Marcos together.
Photos from March 2022 show both Guo and Marcos wearing red shirts and face masks during the 2022 election campaign, as well as Guo giving a high five to Leyte’s 1st district representative Martin Romualdez.
Another photo dated February 2024 shows Guo elbowing Marcos when the latter was inspecting the Airport-New Clark City Access Road (ANAR).
Alice Guo Social Media
@servusbob Sorry po confirm ko muna sa kanila 😂 #fyp #fypシ゚viral #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #trending #aliceguo #politics
Alice Guo Electoral History
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Alice Guo | 16,503 | 42.98 | |||
| NPC | Joey Salting | 16,035 | 41.76 | |||
| Aksyon | Diegogarcia Ilagan | 3,230 | 8.41 | |||
| PDP–Laban | Joseph Gomez | 2,372 | 6.18 | |||
| Independent | Son Marimla | 126 | 0.33 | |||
| Independent | Nestor Serrano | 83 | 0.22 | |||
| Independent | Ferdinand Mariano | 48 | 0.13 | |||
| Total votes | 35,497 | 100.00 | ||||
| Independent gain from NPC | ||||||
What is the issue with Mayor Alice?
A more concerning suggestion is that Mayor Guo, who claims to have forgotten most of her past, earning her the nickname “amnesia girl,” could be a Chinese spy. During the Spanish period, the locals were categorized as Indio. The word ‘Filipino’ was reserved for Spaniards born in the Philippines.
Who is the Vice Mayor of Bamban Tarlac?
Guo filed her certificate of candidacy for municipal mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, as an independent candidate in October 2021. She chose former Mayor Leonardo Anunciacion as her campaign companion for vice mayor.
Why did Alice cry?
Alice follows the White Rabbit down the hole and discovers a large corridor lined with doors. She discovers a little door, which she opens with a key she finds on a nearby table. Alice sees a gorgeous garden through the door and starts crying when she learns she can’t fit through it.
