Chinese-Filipinos fear prejudice fuelled by Alice Guo case, South China Sea row

Their loyalty being questioned amid rising anti-Chinese sentiments among Filipinos

- Mara Cepeda

Philippines Correspondent MANILA-The curious case of a former Philippine town mayor who fled the country after being accused of being a Chinese spy and crime boss is stoking fears of discrimination among Chinese-Filipinos.

Locally called Chinoys or Tsinoys, Filipino nationals who are of Chinese ancestry fear that the case of former Bamban mayor Alice Guo is fanning the flames of Sinophobia amid Manila's dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea.

Filipinos' social media feeds have been flooded with memes and videos criticising her alleged links to the country's online casino industry, or Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) mostly Chinese-backed and now banned.

Filipinos were even more outraged when Guo, who is believed to be a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping, escaped from the Philippines in August despite facing multiple probes for her alleged links to crime syndicates.

Historian Meah Ang See, a Chinese-Filipino, told The Straits Times that some Tsinoys have already been experiencing what she described as microaggression from fellow Filipinos. The latter have teased them about whether they know Guo personally or have anything to do with Pogos.

Ms Ang See was formerly director of the Kaisa Para sa Kaunlaran organisation, which advocates for Tsinoys' integration into PhilipTsinoys' integration into Philippine society. She is also a former president of Bahay Tsinoy, a museum on the ethnic Chinese people's contributions to Philippine history.

"We're not Pogos. We are living our lives as Filipinos. We definitely are Filipino citizens. We are legal.

We are not involved in crime," she added.

Some netizens mocked Guo's accent and looks in posts about her evasive answers when she faced Filipino senators for the first time in May.