Why is this small town mayor accused of being a Chinese spy?
Social MediaA sleepy town in the Philippines has been thrust into the national spotlight after its mayor was accused of being a Chinese agent.
Bamban is a nondescript town in the country's rice-growing flood plains north of the capital, Manila.
Its mayor, Alice Guo is the picture of a young, on-the-go public servant.
Bespectacled, with long black hair and a ready smile, the 35-year-old speaks Tagalog with no foreign accent and loves to wear pink in public.
Nothing about her life - she claims she grew up on a pig farm - seemed to raise alarm bells, until she was called to testify before a Senate hearing earlier this month.
Law enforcers had discovered that an online casino - known locally as a Pogo - in her town was really a front for a scam centre.
Authorities raided the facility last March and rescued close to 700 workers, including 202 Chinese nationals and 73 other foreigners who were forced to pose as online lovers.
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Pogo stands for Philippine Offshore Gambling Operator whose clients include mainland Chinese people.
These businesses flourished during the tenure of Rodrigo Duterte, whose presidency, which ended in 2022, was marked by close ties to China.
But under current president Ferdinand Marcos, Pogos have come under close scrutiny after it was discovered that some of them have been used as fronts for human trafficking and online scam operations.
Ms Guo's case is unfolding as tensions between Manila and Beijing over reefs and outcrops in the resource-rich South China Sea heat up.
Swimming pool and wine cellar
She was found to have owned half of the land where the Pogo stood, just behind her office. She claims she sold the property before she ran for mayor two years ago.
Video of the nearly eight-hectare compound showed it contained a grocery, warehouse, swimming pool, and even a wine cellar. The scam centre workers toiled on rows and rows of long white tables with computers.
Ms Guo was also found to have a helicopter and a Ford Expedition registered under her name but like the land, she claims, these have been sold long ago.
After the senate hearing, Senator Risa Hontiveros asked if Ms Guo was an "asset" of China based on her "opaque" replies to questions about her personal and business backgrounds.
Late on Thursday, President Marcos added his voice to growing alarm over Ms Guo's case.
"No-one knows her. We wonder where she came from, that's why we are investigating this, together with the Bureau of Immigration, because of the questions about her citizenship," Mr Marcos told reporters late Thursday.
Ms Guo told lawmakers that she was "not a coddler, not a protector of Pogos".
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