Embattled former Philippine mayor Alice Guo, who has been charged with crimes linked to illegal offshore gambling operations and accused of being a Chinese spy, is planning to run for office again, raising alarms over the potential threat to national security and loopholes in the country’s election laws.
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Guo’s legal counsel, Stephen David, told reporters that she would file her candidacy on Tuesday, the last day of the week-long candidate filing period for next year’s midterm elections.
David noted that the courts had not yet ruled on Guo’s cases and said she intended to run for the mayorship of Tarlac province’s Bamban town again in order to “show her love for the people” and called efforts to disqualify her “just technicalities”.
“If the people there really want her, they should be the ones to judge. The people should decide whether she is worthy to hold office in their area … she’s not being allowed to run, she’s being disqualified. But that’s not final yet,” he told reporters on Friday.
Guo was dismissed from public office after an anti-corruption court in August found her guilty of “grave misconduct” for her alleged ties to an offshore gaming operator (Pogos) in Bamban that authorities said was carrying out scam operations and human trafficking activities after the facility was raided in March.
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