Alice Guo With NBI agents (Photo from NBI)
MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents who took photos with Alice Guo (Real name: Guo Hua Ping) should say sorry and be reprimanded.
In a chance interview on Monday, Remulla said he was not satisfied with the explanation of the involved law enforcement agents, who were earlier given show-cause orders.
“An apology is needed, a big one. And they need to be reprimanded. This should not be tolerated since that person is wanted,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) chief stressed in Filipino.
READ: Remulla demands explanation from BI, NBI agents over Alice Guo photos
“Wanted people should not be celebrated. You should focus on securing them if you catch them. It’s not right to take a selfie with them. Let’s change that culture. That should not happen,” Remulla added.
Earlier, Justice Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano IV, the DOJ spokesperson, disclosed that Remulla “instructed certain officials to give a show cause order to those involved in these pictures.”
The show cause order stemmed from photos of Guo smiling with BI and NBI agents while being escorted to the airport in Indonesia for her return to the Philippines. The photos were circulated online and sparked a backlash from netizens.
READ: Alice Guo ‘celebrity’ selfies spark outrage
Although the BI and NBI agents explained they “were simply expressing or celebrating the small win,” Clavano said it was not an excuse for them to post the photos.
Guo was arrested in Jakarta, Indonesia, around 1:30 a.m. on September 4. The dismissed mayor of Tarlac’s Bamban town arrived in the country from Indonesia on September 6.
She is facing charges of qualified human trafficking and money laundering. She is also wanted by the Senate as she failed to attend hearings for its probe into Philippine offshore gaming operators.
Guo is being investigated over her potential links to Pogos, which has been tagged as sources of various criminal activities in the country.