Overview

• Ex-mayor Alice Guo faces charges including graft, money laundering, and human trafficking related to illegal online gambling operations.
• Senator Risa Hontiveros has not ruled out Guo's involvement in espionage, highlighting concerns over Chinese influence in the Philippines.
• Guo, who maintains her innocence, was removed from office for grave misconduct and arrested after fleeing to Indonesia.
• The Senate probe has uncovered deep links between Philippine offshore gaming operators and transnational crime syndicates.
• Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has banned online gambling operations, while calling for stronger international cooperation to combat cybercrime.