THE POSE THAT IRKED THE NATION Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. (left) needed to explain on Friday why his photo taken in Jakarta with mayor-turned-fugitive Alice Guo and Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rommel Marbil turned out this way.
MANILA, Philippines — The optics turned an otherwise successful law-enforcement operation into an outrage.
Government announcements trumpeting the arrest of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo in Indonesia were overshadowed by strong criticism over the visibly convivial way she was treated by the Philippine officials who fetched her on Thursday.
Netizens bristled mainly at two photos of Guo—one showing her in the company of Filipino agents inside a vehicle, the other with Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos and Philippine National Police chief Rommel Francisco Marbil in what appeared to be a lounge.
She was all smiles in the photos, while video clips that made the evening news also showed her conversing casually with members of the arrest party.
Her groufie shot in the vehicle was with agents of the National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Immigration. It showed them also breaking into a half-smile as they had Guo sandwiched in the backseat—not unlike a bunch of friends on a roadtrip.
Show-cause order
The picture with Abalos and Marbil, meanwhile, showed the just-captured fugitive framing her face with her uncuffed hands for a cutesy pose.
On Friday, with social media and some lawmakers still seething over Guo’s “special treatment,” the Department of Justice sought an explanation from the NBI agents in the groufie shot.
Justice Assistant Secretary Dominic Clavano said a show-cause order was issued to the NBI personnel following a directive from Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.
President doesn’t mind
Clavano said that while the agents may be “just expressing or celebrating the small win we were able to get …. it’s not an excuse for them to be posting these kinds of pictures and videos.”
He said Remulla got “quite frustrated that this (backlash over the photos) became the focus of the operation (when) there’s still a lot we have to investigate, especially since we know that this crime is a transnational organized crime.’’
But President Marcos didn’t seem to mind when asked to comment on the agents’ conduct.
“I think that is part of the new culture now—to take selfies. Then they post it (to say) ‘Look, I was part of this,’ he told reporters covering an event he attended in Antipolo City.
“Don’t we call the Philippines as the selfie capital of the world?” Mr. Marcos added. “They just had a selfie. I don’t think there’s much more to it than that. They just had a selfie.”
Abalos, meanwhile, explained that he was not aware of how Guo posed for the photo with him and Marbil—which he said was taken for documentation purposes.
“We had this documented so this will be clear. I wasn’t aware of what she was doing. Of course I was looking at the camera, so that’s what happened,” he told reporters upon arrival from Jakarta.
Abalos conceded, however, that there was indeed impropriety on the part of those who posed for selfies with Guo.
In an interview later on TeleRadyo, the interior secretary said: “We were looking at the camera but we didn’t know she was trying to be cute.”
Still, for some senators— especially those who had spent hours grilling Guo in committee hearings on her alleged ties to a raided gaming hub in her town—there could be no excuse.
Risa’s reminder
Sen. Joel Villanueva described the agents’ conduct as “unprofessional,” while Sen. Risa Hontiveros reminded them that Guo “is not a celebrity” but a “fugitive.
Hontiveros said Guo practically turned her arrest into a “fan meet” where the only thing missing was the red carpet.
“We want answers, not a photo shoot … Let’s see if she is still photogenic during the hearing on Monday. She will have ‘unli-pictures’ there,” she said.
Hontiveros reminded government officials and personnel who would be handling Guo “not to make a social event out of the arrest of a fugitive facing human trafficking, money laundering, fake identity, gross misconduct, illegal recruitment and detention, and corruption.”
Like a K-pop star
Villanueva added in a statement: “Oh my, sooo unprofessional. Seriously, do you want to take a picture with this treacherous fugitive?”
“High-ranking government officials practically treated her like a K-pop celebrity,” he said, apparently referring to Abalos and Marbil.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said law enforcers should act with “professionalism and proper decorum” in arresting fugitives.
“It’s not good for our law enforcers to pose for selfies with a criminal and even post it on social media. This conduct of our law enforcement agencies should not be excused,” he said.
“Fanboys, fangirls’
For Bukidnon Rep Jonathan Keith Flores, “They treated her like an actor, a celebrity. They behaved like fanboys and fangirls instead of as law enforcers. Weren’t they ashamed of how they acted?”
Flores also noted how Guo was allowed to put on a face mask, conceal her handcuffs from public view and enjoy a cup of high-end coffee.
“Filipino officials need to explain their behavior—behavior that does not align with how a fugitive and someone being pursued by law enforcement should be treated,” he said. —WITH A REPORT FROM JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE