Philippine Senate orders arrest of mayor probed for alleged Chinese crime ties

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippine Senate has ordered the arrest of a small-town mayor after she refused to appear at hearings investigating her alleged ties with Chinese criminal syndicates, a case that has captivated the nation amid tensions between Manila and Beijing.

The arrest order, signed by the Senate president on Friday and to be carried out by the Senate's sergeant-at-arms, came after the mayor, Alice Guo, failed to appear for a second consecutive hearing on Wednesday, citing stress.

The Senate investigation began in May after authorities raided a casino in Guo's sleepy farming town of Bamban in March, uncovering what the authorities said were scams being perpetrated from a facility built on land partially owned by the mayor.

Guo's lawyer, Stephen David, said on Saturday the mayor was incapable of attending the hearings because of her "physical and mental health condition" owing to "massive cyber bullying and humiliation".

"Hopefully, when her condition will improve, we will see her again during hearings," David said.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, who is leading the investigation, said on Saturday the arrest order against Guo is the first step in making her "accountable to our laws".

The Senate has also ordered the arrest of some members of Guo's family for failing to appear at the hearings.

Guo's case, which has shed light on criminal activity in the mostly Chinese-backed online casino industry in the Philippines, gained national attention after a senator questioned whether she was born in the Philippines, suggesting she could even be a Chinese "asset", an accusation she denied.

The Chinese embassy in Manila did not respond to a request for comment on questions about Guo's identity.

Guo has denied links to criminals and said she is a natural-born Philippine citizen. She has written to the Senate that she was the subject of "malicious accusations". Her legal team on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to nullify the summons requesting her to appear at the hearings.

In May, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr told reporters, "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."

Guo's case comes at a time of growing Philippine suspicion about China's activities following an increasingly tense dispute over reefs and shoals in the busy waterway of the South China Sea, where both nations have claims.

(Reporting by Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)