Alice Guo’s camp begins presenting evidence

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May 29, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Dismissed mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac was subjected to a four-hour court hearing yesterday as the defense panel began presenting evidence in her qualified human trafficking case.

Guo “needed to appear personally” before the Pasig Regional Trial Court, according to Nicole Jamilla, one of her lawyers.

Jamilla did not disclose the names of the defense witnesses or the type of evidence presented.

The qualified trafficking case stems from Guo’s alleged involvement in nefarious activities inside a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub that was raided last year in Bamban, where some workers were reportedly subjected to torture if they refused to run scams.

Among Guo’s co-accused in the case is Huang Zhiyang, who has been tagged by the government as the “boss of all bosses” of illegal POGOs.

Jamilla expressed hope that “we presented sufficient evidence to refute (the prosecution’s) claims,” she told reporters after the hearing, which ended past noon.

The presentation of the defense’s evidence will continue next week.

In addition to the qualified human trafficking charge, the dismissed mayor is also facing charges of graft, material misrepresentation, a quo warranto petition and a petition to cancel her birth certificate – filed in multiple courts across three different jurisdictions.

Guo is currently detained at the Pasig City Jail.