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Alice Guo to attend Monday Senate hearing in bulletproof vest, handcuffs

Jean Mangaluz - Philstar.com
Alice Guo to attend Monday Senate hearing in bulletproof vest, handcuffs
Alice Leal Guo (C), former mayor of Bamban in Philippine's Tarlac province accused of human trafficking and links to Chinese organized crime, is escorted to a press conference in Manila on September 6, 2024, after being deported following her arrest in Indonesia on September 3. Alice Leal Guo, a former mayor of a town north of the capital Manila, has been on the run since she was linked to a Chinese-run online gambling centre where hundreds of people were forced to run scams or risk torture.
AFP / Jam Sta Rosa

MANILA, Philippines — Former Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo will be wearing a bulletproof vest and handcuffs during her attendance at the Senate hearing on Monday, September 9 the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Sunday, September 8. 

PNP spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo said that Guo will be transported to the Senate by 8 a.m. on Monday. The Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality will welcome back Guo after the dismissed mayor fled the country. 

“Lalagyan siya ng bullet vest, isasakay siya sa sasakyan with security package. Ang nasa paligid naman po niya ay mga babaeng pulis natin. Meron din po tayong mga SWAT na magbabantay po at kasama po ‘yan sa convoy at dadalhin siya immediately doon sa Senate para nga um-attend sa hearing,” Fajardo said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview. 

(She will have a bullet vest, she will be on a vehicle with a security package. She will be surrounded by policewomen. There is also a SWAT team who will be part of the convoy who will immediately bring her to the Senate to attend the hearing.) 

Following the selfie fiasco that drew accusations of special treatment, Fajardo also said that Guo was receiving the same treatment as other prisoners. 

Fajardo said that Guo has no access to laptops, cellphones or televisions while she is in her cell. 

The only thing that Guo has in her facilities is a small, round plastic table, a bathroom, a single bed and one ceiling fan. There is no air-conditioning as well, Fajardo added. 

Guo was not allowed to bring any of her things, other than a few clothes she can use. 

Her food is the same ration for all of the other detainees, which for today is rice, hotdog and eggs, the PNP spokesperson said.

The Senate initially had the exclusive right to detain Guo, as it was the only body to issue an arrest warrant for her. However, on the day that Guo was going to be returned to the Philippines, a Tarlac court issued an arrest warrant for the former mayor. 

Guo, however, refused to pay bail, landing her in the custody of the police. The Senate had to appeal to the Tarlac court to allow Guo to attend the Senate hearing, which the court allowed. 

The ex-Bamban mayor is facing several counts of graft, money laundering and human trafficking charges tied to her alleged Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator activities. 

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