Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo will attend a parliamentary probe on unlawful Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) on Monday, September 9, 2024, wearing a bulletproof vest, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.
In an interview with Super Radyo dzBB on Sunday, September 8, PNP Spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo stated that security procedures will be strictly adhered to by law enforcement when escorting Guo to the Senate office in Pasay City from Camp Crame in Quezon City.
Guo was deported back to the Philippines on Friday, September 7, after being apprehended in Indonesia pursuant to a Senate committee-issued arrest warrant.
“Ang initial po ay lalagyan siya ng bullet vest, isasakay siya sa sasakyan with security package. Ang nasa paligid naman niya ay mga babaeng pulis natin. Meron din tayong mga SWAT na magbabantay po at kasama po ‘yan sa convoy at dadalhin siya immediately doon sa Senate para um-attend sa hearing,” Fajardo said.
“Naka-posas po ‘yan papunta ng Senado at pagdating po doon then we will take our cue from the Senate kung ipapatanggal po nila ‘yan. Normally naman po, kapag ang isang indibidwal lalo na’t under detention, ay inaalisan naman ng posas habang ongoing ‘yung Senate although meron tayo security sa likod,” she added.
In a previous letter to Capas, Tarlac Regional Trial Court Branch 109 Presiding Judge Sarah Vedaña-Delos Santos, Senator Risa Hontiveros, requested permission for Guo to attend the September 9 continuation of the panel’s investigation.
The court’s commitment order for Guo, who failed to post bail, to be held at the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame prompted the request.
Guo was housed in the same jail cell as former Senator Leila de Lima.
The space was characterized as “ordinary” and devoid of an air conditioner. The room with white walls contains a metal-framed single bed, a small circular table, monoblock chairs, and a plastic bucket in the toilet along with a pail.
Fajardo said that the PNP will make sure the former mayor is not the victim of the hostage-taking episode that occurred to de Lima in October 2022 when he was in the Custodial Center.
A person under police custody (PUPC) who was allegedly a member of the Abu Sayyaf Group hostaged de Lima in 2022. This happened when three individuals attempting to flee stabbed a police officer who was carrying meals for PUPCs at the maximum security compound with an improvised knife.
After the event, de Lima was examined at a hospital and the three suspects were neutralized.
“Sisiguraduhin natin na hindi na mauulit ang nangyari sa insidente kay dating Senador de Lima. Pagkatapos ng insidenteng ‘yun ay nag-beef up tayo ng security diyan,” she said. (TCSP)
