OSAA secures Alice Guo's detention room, clarifies it's not a jail cell

The Senate’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) provided Senate media reporters a glimpse of the detention room designated for suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo in the event of her arrest or surrender.

This facility, formerly a Senate daycare center, has been converted into a detention facility by the OSAA. It is heavily guarded by the OSAA and is located beside the Philippine National Police-Senate Security Unit.

According to OSAA, while the room may not resemble a hotel, it is assured that Guo and her companions will find it comfortable if they are detained.

The room is equipped with air conditioning, three single double-decker beds with individual pillows, a water dispenser with fresh water refill, a private bathroom, and a sink for washing dishes or clothes.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Roberto Ancan, Senate sergeant-at-arms, conducts on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, an ocular inspection of the detention room where suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and others will be detained upon their arrest. Danny Pata

OSAA chief retired Army Lieutenant General Roberto Ancan mentioned that Guo and her companions are not allowed to bring any type of gadget.

In case of an emergency where Guo needs to make a call, an OSAA telephone will be provided and supervised.

Visitors, except for immediate family members and a lawyer, are not allowed, and there are designated visiting hours.

The OSAA ensures Guo's security despite claims from the mayor's camp about death threats. They will safeguard and protect her as long as she is within the Senate compound, Ancan said.

The OSAA clarified that the room is not a jail, does not have bars, and is merely a temporary detention room for those arrested by the Senate.

The Senate issued arrest orders against Guo, her alleged relatives Sheila Leal Guo, Wesley Leal Guo, Jian Zhong Guo, Seimen L. Guo, and Wenyi Lin; and Dennis Lacson Cunanan and Nancy Jimenez Gamo for repeatedly failing to attend the upper chamber’s investigation into the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) hub in Bamban.

The OSAA on Sunday said it has already served the arrest orders against all of them but only Gamo, the mayor's accountant, was found. Gamo is now under the custody of the Senate.

Guo's lawyer Atty. Stephen David on Monday said she is still in the Philippines and is already looking into when and how she would turn herself in before the Senate. —KG, GMA Integrated News