Alice Guo may be suffering from lung infection—PNP
Dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo may be suffering from a lung infection and will undergo testing to determine if she has tuberculosis, authorities said.
Speaking to reporters outside Pasig City Jail on Sept. 23, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Jean Fajardo said Guo was at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Quezon City.
“As a matter of procedure before turning her over to BJMP, she underwent the required medical and physical examination conducted by the PNP General Hospital and the Forensic Group," Fajardo said. "During the medical examination, the doctor found a probable infection in her left lung."
Guo has been at the PNP Custodial Center in Quezon City for two weeks and was supposed to be transferred to the Pasig City Jail Female Dormitory with 44 other inmates.
This was based on an order from the Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 167, which is hearing her qualified human trafficking case, a non-bailable offense.
The transfer from Quezon City to Pasig was originally scheduled for Sept. 20 but was moved to Sept. 23 since the PNP had to return her arrest warrant to the court.
BJMP spokesperson Jayrex Joseph Bustinera said Guo will be in isolation for a few days due to the possible infection.
She joined three other persons deprived of liberty who had been suffering from tuberculosis in a 10-square-meter isolation area. Guo is already wearing a yellow PDL shirt, BJMP pants, and a mask.
Bustinera said the test results are expected to be out within the day. Once Guo is cleared, she will be immediately transferred to the common jail facilities.
The Pasig City Jail Female Dormitory has 135 detainees though it's originally meant for 36 individuals, according to Bustinera.
Guo's lawyer, meanwhile, filed a motion before the Department of Justice to keep her at the PNP Custodial Center amid supposed security threats.
Guo is in the middle of a months-long Senate investigation on alleged illegal activities of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation hubs, including in her bailiwick.
Amid the investigation, Guo, her siblings Shiela and Wesley, and Cassandra Ong, her alleged cohort who has ties to POGO hubs in Porac, Pampanga, left the Philippines.
Shiela and Ong were apprehended in Batam City on Aug. 20 and brought back to the Philippines on Aug. 22, while Guo was apprehended in Tangerang City on Sept. 4 and turned over to Philippine officials within 24 hours. Guo was brought back to the Philippines early Sept. 6.
Aside from human trafficking, Guo is facing money laundering and tax evasion cases.