November 26, 2024 | 12:29pm
MANILA, Philippines — Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo is an “agent of influence”, according to the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) on Tuesday, November 26.
However, the NICA cannot conclusively say that Guo is a foreign intelligence agent just yet.
During the Senate’s final hearing on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs), NICA Deputy Director General Francisco Acedillo stated the distinction between the two.
For Guo to be determined as a foreign intelligence agent, there needs to be an intelligence agency that trained, employed, supervised and controlled her. Then the NICA would need confirmation from that agency itself.
“We have not come to that determination yet,” Acedillo said.
This only leaves the possibility that Guo is an “agent of influence”.
Acedillo said that there is no legal definition yet for what an agent of influence is yet. However, the NICA executive said that there are several ways to define an agent of influence, which includes using one’s influence, stature, or position to influence public opinion or decision-making to produce benefits from their host country.
All of this applied to Guo, who was able to secure a mayoral position despite her identity allegedly being faked.
“Given that these activities have been common, especially during the Cold War, the activities and the facts that have come to light so far, in this committee and in other committees, especially in the House, point to the fact that she is. And even within the intelligence community, there is consensus that indeed she is an agent of influence,” Acedillo said.
Guo has previously been tagged as a Chinese spy by She Zhijiang — a Chinese businessman who claims to be a spy for China.
In an explosive Al Jazeera report, She shared documents that said Guo was a spy. He urged Guo to just tell the truth, as China will not protect her.
However, suspicions that Guo was a spy stretched to the earlier POGO hearing, when she failed to recall basic details about her birth.
The National Bureau of Investigation eventually confirmed that Guo was Chinese national Guo Hua Ping. However, Guo remained insistent that she is a Filipino.
Guo faces multiple cases, including money laundering, human trafficking, misrepresentation and more.
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