Alice Guo strongly denies Chinese spy tag

Metro Manila, Philippines — The conspiracy theory heats up but a dismissed mayor at the center of it all vehemently denied allegations in a congressional hearing that she was a Chinese spy.

The quad committee of the House of Representatives hearing on illegal drugs, extrajudicial killings, and illegal offshore gaming operations on Friday, Sept. 27, showed parts of a documentary recently produced by international media outfit Al Jazeera about She Zhijiang, a gambling tycoon currently detained in Thailand, linked to former Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo.

She Zhijiang, who said he was a former Chinese spy, has encrypted files where a supposed dossier of Guo Hua Ping - the supposed real name of Ali Guo - was found, according to the Al Jazeera documentary. He claimed Guo asked him to help fund the former mayor’s campaign.

Guo lost her cool and denied she was not the woman in the picture in the dossier, and that she “never asked for campaign funds entirely.”

“Hindi ko po siya kilala at sana po, your honor, Mr. Chair, makuha ko rin ‘yong details, gusto ko magdemanda di ko po sila kilala,” Guo told the panel.

[Translation: I don't know him and your honor, Mr. Chair, I hope to get the details because I want to file damages. I don't know him.]

Guo is at the center of an illegal offshore gaming operations scandal and linked to the raided gaming hub in her town.

Senators, who were the first to probe Guo, highlighted her Chinese citizenship in hearings, showing documents that Guo is in fact the Chinese national Guo Hua Ping. The Office of the Solicitor General said it is also convinced that Guo is a Chinese citizen who unlawfully held a mayoral post.

EXPLAINER: Alice Guo’s lies, according to PH gov’t top lawyer

Guo denied at least seven times that she was a Chinese spy. “Mahal ko po ang Pilipinas [I love the Philippines],” she added, saying she is a Filipino.

“I think our government agencies can prove din sa dadating na araw na hindi ako spy dahil di naman po talaga ako spy,” she said.

“Secondly, ‘yong taong na nasa video kanina, I'll find a way, para — hindi ko alam papaano pero I'll talk to my lawyer, especially the network, magdedemanda po ako," she said.

[Translation: I think our government agencies can prove some day that I'm not a spy because I'm not really a spy. Secondly, the man in the video, I'll find a way — I don't know how but I'll talk to my lawyer, I'm going to file damages, especially to the network.]

PBA party-list Rep. Migs Nograles told Guo to relax as she "[does] not have to be riled up if [she knows] the truth."

"Your honor, emotional po ako dahil unfair para sa akin para sabihan po ako na spy ako," the dismissed mayor said.

[Translation: Your honor, I'm emotional because it's unfair for me to be called a spy.]

Nograles noted similarities in the stories of She Zhijiang and Guo in terms of their ties to illegal gambling operations as alleged Chinese spies. Gambling in any form is banned in China.

Guo pleaded not guilty to one count of qualified human trafficking before a Pasig court earlier in the day.

The ex-mayor posted bail on graft charges she faces before a Valenzuela court. She is also facing money laundering raps.