“It’s so unfair.”
That was how Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. described the criticism for the supposed special treatment accorded fugitive former Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo who was allowed to do “selfie poses” with the officials who fetched her from Indonesia on Thursday.
“Let’s not be like that,” Abalos said, referring to the bashing they received over the pictures of Guo happily flashing peace signs and grinning during her turnover from Indonesian authorities.
“Think of all the efforts we did… we even tried to find a plane and rushed to get her at 1 o’clock. Maybe there would be more (criticism) if we failed to get her, but we did,” Abalos said.
He added that he did not know Guo had been posing for pictures at her turnover and making “unnecessary” gestures.
Abalos said Guo was handcuffed on her return to the country and was presented to the press like any other fugitive.
Abalos himself posed for a photo with Guo and Philippine National Police Chief Rommel Marbil where they were all smiling while Guo flashed the peace sign.
Abalos said that he and Marbil asked for a private meeting with Guo when they received her.
“Let me clarify. When we got Alice, we asked for a private meeting with me and General Marbil. So we went to this room, with the Indonesian authorities,” he said.
During the meeting, Guo disclosed to Abalos that she had been receiving death threats. Marbil wanted to record what Guo was telling them.
“At that point, it seemed someone took a picture to have it documented. So we looked at the camera. Of course, when it came to that, I didn’t know what she was doing,” he said.
Guo is currently detained at the PNP custodial facility in Camp Crame, Quezon City.