By Jelena Villorente

When we think of life under the public spotlight, we think of famed figures and their uncontainable aura and glamour. The limelight revels in their lustrous gleam and those in the audience are swayed by beauty, demeanor, and smiles of goodwill — until we find that this projected light extends far beyond the deceiving sparkle of charming eyes.

In the Philippine context, countless can be named, but here we are zeroed in on the former mayor of the municipality of Bamban, Tarlac. Alice Guo, also known as Guo Hua Ping, is a name you’ll see plastered on every news site, with countless articles and reports coming to weave the story we’ve all heard about her illicit deeds. Audiences have come to know about her illegal involvement with Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), her indisputable identity as a Chinese citizen and alleged spy, and her stubborn front in the face of the Senate, among many others.

It’s as if we know all about the criminal that she is, with the bottom lines the Senate has come to draw out of matching fingerprints, bank records, and identity documents — until a documentary nestled within Al Jazeera, a media network stationed in Doha, Qatar, wormed its way to becoming the most incriminating piece of evidence thus far against Guo’s evasive efforts.

With this revelation, a backdrop is further painted for the elusive ex-Bamban mayor. The media is now exposed to what is being validated as Guo’s life in Chinese espionage — and with the Senate’s relentless questioning, only time will tell until their hostage finally breaks.

Incriminating Content

It was on September 27, 2024, when the Senate decided to confront Guo with the obtained documentary evidence. What was in it seemed to be highly accusatory, even more than the other documents that served as the Senate’s proof, as it had succeeded in eliciting a visible, riled-up reaction in the normally aloof Guo in this particular questioning.

In the documentary, entitled “She Zhijiang: Discarded Chinese spy or criminal mastermind?,” we are introduced to She Zhijiang, a self-confessed Chinese spy detained in Thailand who sought to make statements about his fellow spies through an interview with Al Jazeera’s TV program 101 East — and it was his very message that knocked down Guo’s stubborn denials.

Upon watching the documentary, you are presented with a narrative about She Zhijiang and his affairs with the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), a center of Chinese intelligence veiled in ultimate secrecy. In summary, the video depicts She’s extensive involvement in fraudulent activities with the MSS, such as scams and human trafficking, along with his affairs as a spy, through 101 East’s interviews and investigations. 

The documentary did not feature only him, however. Guo Hua Ping’s first appearance was preceded by a dossier containing information on her Chinese identity, one of many files decrypted by She Zhijiang’s friend and custodian. This was followed by She’s claims of his affiliation with Guo, with the latter allegedly asking him to help fund her political campaign, with which She did not comply in the end due to not wanting to “offend the government of the Philippines.”

Consequently, this was followed by a message from She Zhijiang directed to Guo herself. According to him, “China cannot be trusted,” making a note of where he’s ended up after his dedication to the MSS as proof.

“If you don’t want to be eliminated, you should tell the world the truth,” he added, likely referring to the truth of her Chinese identity.

These discoveries undoubtedly piqued the interest of the Senate, as the details presented by the dossier matched what they had already uncovered about Guo. The document confirmed China as her country of birth, Chinese citizen Li Wen Yi as her legitimate mother, and a location in the Fujian province of China as her home address. Additionally, the claims made by She Zhijiang also affirmed Guo’s identity as a Chinese spy. 

Upon presenting this piece of evidence in actual questioning, a notable observation many made was Guo’s sudden shift in demeanor. Guo broke from her normally calm, aloof, almost lighthearted demeanor and began responding to the Senate in an agitated manner, fidgeting in her seat as she countered incriminating statements.

This crack in her cool is particularly telling because she has already come to face countless allegations by the Senate pertaining to her Chinese identity, almost always being backed up by evidence, too, without breaking so much as a sweat. It was the first time she appeared to be ruffled at a hearing at all, spurting out defensive statements such as “hindi ako spy!,” especially when the documentary technically only confirmed details that had already been uncovered about her. The only explicit difference was the fact that it had been supplied by a confirmed Chinese spy — perhaps this could have triggered her? Or was there something else?

Nevertheless, the average person would have already figured it out — Guo felt attacked. Visibly and audibly clear in her gestures and tone, respectively, Guo could not help but be inclined to react as opposed to her tamed proceedings. This only further hammers down how much damage she was willing to endure before breaking a sweat at extremely telling evidence being lunged at her pride. 

What more will it take for her to finally snap?

Questioning the Catalysts

At the plainest glance, this case is one that is both frustratingly and amusingly obvious, yet also complex. Even before the released Al Jazeera documentary evidence, accusations against Guo Hua Ping have already been well-substantiated by numerous pieces of evidence.

Audiences tuning in to news about Guo would only be met with her adamant denials attempting to slash down whatever proof the Senate has up its sleeves, and since then, she’s built herself as a cynosure for online memes, gags, and jokes mocking her replies of feigned innocence and cluelessness. The case to many is pure theatrics casting an amusing fraud of a hostage dodging a relentless series of questioning — but in reality, it penetrates deeper.

For one, during the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) filing period, it was disclosed that Guo had plans of running for Bamban mayor once again in 2025 before she opted otherwise. At this, the Senate expressed outrage, especially at Guo’s persistence towards holding a political position despite her current legal dispute, and urged voters to remain vigilant in the face of such candidates. Even the Department of Justice (DOJ) sought to oppose Guo’s COC entirely, with DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla stating it is not her right “because she’s not Filipino, and she bears falsified documents.”

What proved to be an impediment, however, was the fact that the Commission of Elections did not hold the power to automatically cancel her COC despite her state of detainment. In confronting this dilemma, the COMELEC merely chose to adhere to the Office of the Ombudsman’s verdict and the final court ruling regarding her case due to the fact that she has yet to be convicted. This lack of a ruling provides Guo with the leeway to pursue a political position, as she has not yet been proven guilty as of now.

Furthermore, there is also no forgetting how Guo was able to flee the Philippines along with her siblings Shiela and Wesley Guo, ending up in Malaysia by boat before she was caught and arrested in Indonesia by the local authorities — by Indonesian police.

With Guo’s POGO involvement, attempted escape, and (fortunately canceled) plans of running for Bamban mayor, one thing is clear — all of these depict the current disheveled state of our country’s political and security systems.

Looking in retrospect, the case in its entirety began with Guo holding a position in Bamban’s local government, through which she was able to evade legal disputes in engaging with POGOs and crimes of money laundering and human trafficking. If she wrested all this power through mere falsified documents and identity fraud, who’s to say no other political figure is doing the same? 

Guo’s out-of-the-country escapade is also telling of our own country’s immigration proceedings. An infamous figure such as her would have been kept well-detained if not for our poor security, enabling her to waltz beyond our borders, ultimately to be caught by Indonesian authorities to then shame our own.

In the case of Guo’s former plan to run for Bamban mayor in 2025, there was also COMELEC’s lack of decisive power on COC filings, only ending up entirely dependent on Guo’s final court rulings despite her known state of detainment. Plainly said, it would be quite alarming if a government agency tasked with ensuring candidates who are qualified and corrupt-free is truly empty of the capability to investigate the validity of COCs and cancel them as prompted.

The question is then prodded — how could our country allow such figures to hold authority? Would Guo’s evasions continue to shield her and her power?

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said it himself in a recent interview with ANC: “Are there more spies in our country? Are there more people like these penetrating our political system and slowly climbing up the ladder?” he said.

Maybe the answers lay in what principles our systemic pillars uphold. Maybe they lay in the adamant Senate driven to coerce the truth out of their hostage, or ultimately in the final rulings against Guo — but despite this case being out of our reach, it is imperative that we recognize what remains in our control, intertwined with our identities as Filipino citizens.

Citizen Cognizance

Our democracy teaches us that the people truly hold the power to mold our motherland.

As citizens of a democratic country, we possess the authority to not only vote for political leaders we think are capable of catalyzing national development but also demand changes in systems that prove to be a detriment despite promises of benefit. Once we find ourselves lacking in social proactiveness, our country can only go so far — spearheaded by corrupt leaders, precarious systems, and undisciplined individuals most of all.

At the very root of Guo’s dispute, and all the other cases akin to hers, there are those that enabled her malicious affairs, unflagging in the continuous demonstration of our democratic foundation’s unruly state.

Whatever this may teach us, may it be that our discipline is indispensable, let this ongoing trial allow awareness to enshrine itself in us citizens — and be the driving force of what our nation and its pillars have yet to become.