Photo Credit: Reuters
Madam Alice Guo, a mayor in the Philippines who has been accused of being a Chinese spy has gone into hiding, officials said.
Police could not carry out a warrant for the arrest of Alice Guo over the weekend as she was not at any of her known addresses.
Scam centres were uncovered in Ms Guo's town of Bamban in March, concealed in online casinos that cater to mainland Chinese.
She had also been questioned on her Chinese parentage and suspicions that she was working as an "asset" or spy for Beijing.
Ms Guo's case has gripped the nation as Manila and Beijing continue to spar over reefs and outcrops in the South China Sea.
The Senate ordered the arrest of Ms Guo and some members of her family last Friday after she twice snubbed summons to appear in hearings on the scam centres.
"Show yourselves. Hiding will not erase the truth," Senator Risa Hontiveros, who is leading parliament's investigation on Ms Guo, said in a statement.
Ms Guo has denied wrongdoing. She claims her Chinese father and Filipina mother raised her on their pig farm. But Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who is part of the investigation, claims Ms Guo is a Chinese national whose real name is Guo Hua Ping, based on immigration records.
"She is hiding to evade arrest," Mr Gatchalian told local radio. "Our tracker teams will continue looking for her."
On the day the arrest warrant was signed, Ms Guo posted a statement on Facebook, addressing her constituents and alluding to the fact that she would not be around. Ms Guo's lawyer, Nicole Jamilla, told local television that her client would "definitely" cooperate with official investigations.
Aside from the investigation by the Senate, Ms Guo is the subject of a separate anti-graft probe that has led to her suspension.
The scam centres in Bamban have underscored how online casinos or Pogos (Philippine Online Gaming Operations) have been used as cover for text scams, human trafficking and other criminal activities.
If proven that she is a Chinese citizen, Ms Guo would be not be eligible to serve as mayor. Only Filipino citizens are allowed to hold elective office.
Lewis Musonye
