I am a love child, not a Chinese spy, says mayor

A mayor of a small farming town in the Philippines has said she is a "love child" and not a spy for China. Mayor Alice Guo who is being investigated for criminal operations, was unable to answer questions about her family history and upbringing during a senate hearing. This led one senator to ask whether she was an "asset" for Beijing.

"I want to tell the public: I am not a spy. I am a Filipino and that I love my country," Ms Guo told the ABS-CBN News channel on Monday night. She also revealed that she was her Chinese father's "love child" with his Filipina maid. Her statement came after weeks of intense criticism on social media, where she was the subject of memes that lampooned her forgetfulness on details about her personal life and her supposed ties to China.

President Ferdinand Marcos also weighed in, expressing his concern.

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