BuCor ready to accept Alice Guo

By Benjamin Pulta, Philippine News Agency

Alice Guo (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)

MANILA – The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said it is ready to take custody of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo and other individuals whom the courts have ordered committed, affirming preparations are in place for their immediate admission.

In a statement Friday, Bucor Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. assured that security measures are being enhanced at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City, where Guo will be transferred after she was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Pasig Regional Trial Court for qualified trafficking.

CIW Corrections Technical Superintendent Marjorie Ann Sanidad informed Catapang that they already deployed additional Corrections Emergency Response Teams to ensure peace and order within the facilities, and all personnel have been placed on-call status as of Thursday.

Sanidad explained that as a standard operating procedure, upon the commitment of Guo at CIW, she will be received by a designated receiving officer at the Reception and Diagnostic Center (RDC).

The initial phase includes the verification of her documents and belongings before she is quarantined in the RDC for five days.

After the quarantine, Guo will undergo a medical examination before her transfer to the RDC regular dormitory for 55 days of orientation, diagnostics, and qualification.

After completing the 60-day process, she will be transferred to her assigned regular dormitory at the Maximum Security Camp.

Catapang explained that, as a newly committed person deprived of liberty, the 55-day assessment period, after the five-day quarantine, is very important to help determine Guo’s psychological and physical needs.

He said this information would be used by the institution to create an individualized treatment or program.