Marcos defends officials who had groupie photo with dismissed mayor
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. defended Philippine authorities who earned criticism for their groupie photo with dismissed Bamban town Mayor Alice Guo during her arrest in Indonesia.
"(It's) part of the new culture now, that we ask for any photo. When they pose for shots, (it's like they're saying,) look, I'm part of the arresting team," Marcos said in an ambush interview.
He was referring to the viral groupie photo of Guo inside a vehicle with the arresting officers, including Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
"We are the selfie capital of the world 'right? When we have a selfie, you cannot prevent people from smiling... They just had a selfie, I don't think there's much more to it than that," he added.
After the photo went viral, NBI Director Jaime Santiago, asked for the public's forgiveness as he assures that the NBI officers will be reprimanded for not acting professionally.
"Please forgive us, we should have (Patawarin nyo kami dapat) act professionally, they will be reprimanded and a stern warning that it should not be repeated," he said in a TV interview.
Another group photo showing Guo with Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos and Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil all smiling also went viral as it earned criticism from netizens in social media.
"So she was telling me that there is a threat in her life, Chief Marbil was recording it, so we looked at the camera and we didn't know that she's posing to look cute," Abalos explained.
The PNP apologized for this photo. PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said: ''There was no intention on their part to offend anyone and as we say I think it's normal for anyone when a picture is taken to smile.''
The leader of an activist group said Guo was treated differently.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) president Renato Reyes compared Guo’s photograph with Abalos and Marbil with an activist who was handcuffed and held to the ground by policemen during a rally.
“Double standards ng hustisya sa Pilipinas,” Renato Reyes, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) president, said in a Facebook post. Robina Asido/DMS
