A Pasig court on Thursday found former Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo guilty of qualified human trafficking and sentenced her to life imprisonment, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) reported.
Guo attended the promulgation online and is currently detained at the Pasig City Jail Female Dormitory.
The Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 167 also sentenced co-accused Rachelle Malonzo Carreon, Jaimielyn Cruz, Walter Wong Rong, Wang Weili, Wuli Dong, Nong Ding Chang, and Lang Xu Po to life imprisonment.
Each was ordered to pay a fine of P2 million per case, in addition to monetary reparations for the victim-complainants.
The court further ordered the forfeiture of the Baofu compound in favor of the government.
The accused were charged under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, as amended by the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012 and 2022. The case is linked to a June 2024 raid on a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Bamban, Tarlac, which rescued over 800 Filipino and foreign nationals.
In September 2024, Guo pleaded not guilty to the charges. Her lawyer, Atty. Nicole Jamilla, stated that the former mayor continues to deny the allegations.
