Guo transfer to Pasig jail reset to Monday

MANILA, Philippines — The court-ordered transfer of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo to the Pasig City Jail will take place tomorrow after its postponement on Friday due to incomplete “documentary requirements,” Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said yesterday.

Guo, whose real identity as a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping was unmasked during a Senate hearing, is currently detained at the PNP Custodial Center at Camp Crame.

“As per the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), maybe on Monday,” Fajardo said on Viber, referring to Guo’s transfer to the Pasig City Jail Female Dormitory.

She said the CIDG also had to return the warrant of arrest issued by Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 167 Judge Annielyn Medes-Cabelis, who ordered Guo’s transfer to the Pasig City Jail.

Superintendent Jayrex Joseph Bustinera, spokesman for the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), said on Friday the PNP was still completing the requirements needed for Guo’s transfer.

“According to the PNP, they were unable to complete documentary requirements needed for the transfer, as well as medical requirements,” Bustinera told reporters.

He said they had been told that results of her X-ray and electrocardiogram examination were not yet available.

While it is their policy not to allow prisoner transfers during weekends, Bustinera said they could make an exemption for Guo if the requirements are completed.

However, the BJMP also has to validate the authenticity of the documents before taking in Guo, according to Bustinera.

“There’s no office during Saturdays and Sundays, and we also have to check other documentary requirements,” he said.

In the Pasig City Jail, Guo will share cell space with 44 other detainees. The cell has 10 triple deck bunk beds.

The Pasig City court set Guo’s arraignment on charges of qualified human trafficking on Sept. 27 at 8:30 a.m. through videoconferencing.

Guo on Friday posted a bail bond of P540,000 at the Valenzuela City RTC Branch 282 for her graft charges.

Judge Elena Amano moved the arraignment to Sept. 30 at 1 p.m. to allow the prosecution to respond to her lawyer’s motion to quash the case against her by Sept. 25.