MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Monday said it was up to the proper authorities to determine if dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo was a spy or not.
However, Teodoro said only three things are clear about Guo.
“What is clear is that she is not a Filipino,” Teodoro said in an ambush interview in Camp Aguinaldo. “Secondly, she falsified documents to pretend that she is a Filipino, and thirdly, she was an active co-conspirator to a massive illegal criminal enterprise.”
She Zhijiang, an alleged Chinese spy imprisoned in Thailand, also linked Guo to Chinese espionage operations in the Philippines, according to an Al Jazeera report, which she vehemently denied.
READ: DOJ wants Guo’s spy links claims probed
Guo, now identified as Guo Hua Ping, was investigated by the Senate and House of Representatives over her involvement in the operation of illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogo).
Guo fled the country last July 18 despite an ongoing probe into her probable role in the operations of Pogo. Indonesian authorities arrested her in Jakarta on September 4.
“She is a facilitator and a participant [in] an illegal criminal enterprise,” Teodoro said. “Whether or not she is a spy, that is something yet to be determined with finality by the proper authorities.”
In line with this, Teodoro urged lawmakers to amend the country’s espionage law.
“We should punish espionage in times of peace because the espionage law in the Philippines is only effective in times of war,” he also said.