MANILA – Sen. Risa Hontiveros slammed Department of Interior and Local Government secretary Benhur Abalos and Philippine National Police chief Rommel Marbil for their viral “groufie” with dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo in Indonesia.
According to Hontiveros, Abalos, Marbil, and other government officials should not treat Guo like a celebrity by having their pictures taken with her since she is a fugitive.
“We want answers, not a photo shoot. Matapos niyang makipag-taguan sa batas, ginawa namang fan-meet nitong si Alice Guo ang pagkakaaresto niya. Kulang na lang red carpet,” Hontiveros said in a statement on Friday.
She added: “Isang paalala rin sa ating mga kasamahan sa gobyerno, hindi dapat ginagawang social event ang pag-aresto sa isang puganteng sangkot sa patong-patong na kaso.”
Abalos and Marbil drew flak from netizens after a picture of them with a candid-looking Guo was released publicly by the National Bureau of Investigation on Thursday.
Abalos, in a press conference, explained that the said picture was captured for documentation purposes and he denied that he was cordial with the dismissed mayor.
“Pina-document namin, para malinaw ito, hindi ko naman alam kung ano ang ginagawa niya (sa picture), siyempre nakatingin ako sa camera,” Abalos explained.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., for his part, defended Abalos, Marbil, and other government officials for having their pictures taken with Guo.
“I think that is part of the new culture now na nagpapakuha ng kahit ano kasi po-pose nila, tingnan mo, oh nakasama ko sa team na nag-aaresto,” Marcos said in an interview on Friday.
“Ang tawag natin sa Pilipinas, we are the selfie capital of the world ‘di ba? Oh ‘di nag-selfie, hindi mo naman mapigilan ang tao na ngumiti… They just had a selfie, I don’t think there’s more to it than that,” he added.
Guo arrived in the Philippines a few minutes after 1 a.m. on Friday aboard a private plane at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City days after her arrest in Indonesia./PN
