I spy with my little eye…

The strange saga of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo started with the March 13, 2024, raid on a huge Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogo) hub in Tarlac by government agents that uncovered trafficking and other criminal activities, and went on to focus on the dismissed official’s dubious links to these illegal operations.

Last week, this made-for-TV series took a cinematic turn when the House hearing presented an Al Jazeera documentary on confessed Chinese spy She Zhijiang, who said that China’s spies abound in the Philippines, among them Guo Hua Ping—believed to be Alice Guo’s Chinese name. “Tell the world the truth,” and do not trust China, She urged Guo. Detained in Bangkok on the request of the Chinese government allegedly for scam activities, She is fighting extradition to the mainland where, he said, he could be eliminated for “knowing too much.”

The documentary also showed a Chinese ID with what appears to be a picture of a younger Guo. Her address in Fujian turned out to be the local office of the Chinese Communist Party, the docu said, adding that when shown her picture, residents of a nearby area confirmed that she is the daughter of a Lin Wen Yi, and had left the community in late 2002.

Luxurious lifestyle

In an emotional outburst, Guo denied the claims in the docu, and threatened to sue She. But why, netizens were quick to point out, did she get agitated on behalf of this Guo Hua Ping when she has consistently denied being the same person? Did she unwittingly reveal her true identity?

The docu seems to confirm speculations about Guo being a Chinese spy, which have been simmering given her implausible answers during the Senate hearings. While she tried to project the aura of a guileless woman homeschooled and raised in a farm, her signature getup and accessories showed her to be worldly, with her helicopter, luxurious lifestyle, and 36 bank accounts that reportedly held billions being disproportionate to the earnings of a pig farm business and her mayoralty post.

With the spy revelation fanning fears amid China’s aggressive maneuvers in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), National Security Council (NSC) Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said the NSC and police intelligence units would validate She’s claim with their partner agencies abroad. And well they should.

There are, after all, other indications that China is keen on gathering intelligence to give it a bigger edge in the WPS dispute. Further, with our proximity to Taiwan, it’s not improbable for China to plant eyes and ears in the Philippines to monitor the moves of what it has been claiming as its province. Such possibility has been raised in the sudden increase of Chinese students in several universities up North.

Espionage law

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. broached a similar scenario when he noted that the raided Pogo hub is “within two minutes’ flying time from Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac.” The annual military exercises between the Philippines and the United States are held in this former US military reservation, he pointed out.

The defense chief also urged Congress to immediately amend the country’s espionage law “which is only effective during times of war,” when it’s as “important to punish espionage even in times of peace,” he said.

While at it, the NSC and the Department of National Defense should pursue as well the probe on how much control China has over the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines where it holds a 40 percent stake, and could possibly have remote access to the country’s power transmission system.

And whatever happened to the China-funded “Safe Philippines” project which would install CCTV surveillance cameras all over Metro Manila and Davao City? Why weren’t lawmakers provided the documents on this deal, then Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto had asked in 2019.

Fake birth certificates

The Armed Forces of the Philippines should revisit as well its 2019 preliminary agreement with Mislatel, a Chinese state telecoms giant which is part of the consortium controlled by Duterte ally Dennis Uy, to install communications facilities and towers inside its military camps.

Last year, the Philippine Retirement Authority said it would suspend the issuance of the special resident retiree’s visa pending review and amendments of its policies on age and visa deposit requirements. Well and good, as the program accepts foreign retirees aged at least 35, “a soldier’s age,” people have noted with alarm.

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Immigration should continue their probe into the issuance of fake birth certificates, and prosecute the personnel of that Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur civil registrar behind some 1,200 falsified birth records issued to aliens for a hefty price.

Is Alice Guo a spy for China? It’s an issue that needs to be resolved with utmost care, lest it strains further our already fraying ties with China. At the same time, we should relentlessly uncover the truth, as our sovereignty, patrimony, and national security are at stake.