BuCor denies special treatment for Guo

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December 12, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) has denied claims that convicted former mayor Alice Guo is receiving special treatment at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong.

Reports surfaced that Guo, recently sentenced to a life term for qualified human trafficking, was visited four times over the weekend by two Chinese-looking men.

The former Bamban, Tarlac mayor also allegedly obtained a phone.

According to BuCor, the strict protocols in the CIW are uniformly applied to everyone, including the bureau’s personnel.

“Guo, along with all inmates, is subject to the same regulations and restrictions with no special privileges afforded to her or any other individuals deprived of liberty,” BuCor said in a statement.

It added that logs showed that only Guo‘s defense counsels have visited her since her transfer to the CIW on Friday.

Lawyers Nicole Jamilla visited from Dec. 6 to 9, Romar Cambri on Dec. 8 and Marc Lester Mamuri and Cheska Mhey dela Paz on Dec. 10.

Guo and her two cohorts, Rachelle Carreon and Jaimielyn Cruz, will be moved to a regular dormitory at the reception diagnostic center to undergo a compulsory 55-day orientation, diagnostics and classification process to familiarize themselves with the rules inside the penitentiary.

Before that, they were subjected to a five-day mandatory quarantine in accordance with BuCor protocols.

Although the three convicts requested to have their 55-day orientation in the quarantine area, BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. rejected the petition, saying “they must follow established procedures.”

The political prisoners support group Kapatid said reports of special treatment for Guo are nothing new.

Kapatid spokesperson Fides Lim said in a statement that some “very important” prisoners have been receiving “conveniences” routinely denied to poorer ones, such as rice cookers.

Lim also cited the case of convict Jovito Palparan, who was transferred from the maximum-security to the minimum-security compound in 2022, despite being sentenced to a life term for kidnapping and serious illegal detention.

“Some prisoners are clearly more equal than others,” Lim said. “More than high time for a full investigation into these glaring disparities.”