Abalos: Judge me not; it’s just one photo

Viral photo of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo (center) with DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos (left) and PNP Chief Police General Rommel Marbil

MANILA, Philippines — Don’t judge him by that one photo—one that just happened to be the most viral and latest cause of public indignation in the country this week.

Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. made this appeal on Saturday as he continued to parry criticism over his controversial photo with dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo that was taken shortly after her arrest in Indonesia on Sept. 3.

READ: Alice Guo back in Philippines following arrest in Indonesia

The shot showed Guo uncuffed, all smiles and gesturing to make a playful face while seated on a sofa between Abalos and Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, who both went to fetch her from Jakarta on Thursday.

When leaked on social media, it enraged netizens and some senators who, before Guo fled the country in July, had questioned her lengthily about her  identity and alleged ties to a raided gaming hub in her town.

In a media forum in Quezon City, Abalos again addressed critics, saying: “If you are going to judge my character just because of one picture—don’t be like that, don’t be like that.”

He reiterated that when the photo was taken for documentation purposes, “I have no idea that the person beside me was doing a cutesy pose. I didn’t know that that’s what happened there.”

“I’m just asking for fairness here, especially for those who were with me—(the agents of) the National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Immigration (BI)—who hadn’t slept (at that point).

The NBI and BI agents also drew flak over another photo that showed them having a groufie with a smiling Guo inside a vehicle.

The Department of Justice on Friday ordered their respective bureaus to make the agents explain why they had to take such a picture and release it to the public.

NBI chief: Agents just ‘happy’

Also on Friday, NBI Director Jaime Santiago issued an apology, saying the agents were just “happy that finally Alice Guo was in their possession.”

“You know their happiness was a vindication,” Santiago told reporters.

The NBI chief said he himself shouted for joy when he learned of Guo’s arrest, adding: “Alice is ours. We won, we won gold. So I cannot blame (the agents’) for being happy.”

He also explained that Guo was seen without handcuffs in Indonesia because she was technically not yet under Philippine jurisdiction at that time.

But she was handcuffed the moment she boarded the chartered plane that brought her back to the country, Santiago said.

Abalos on Saturday also explained he had to ask a favor from a friend, whom he identified only as “Michael,” for the chartered plane.

This was to expedite the trip because Indonesian authorities gave the Philippine side only until 1 a.m. on Thursday to take custody of Guo or she would be freed for lack of any charges against her in Indonesia, he added.

“If I can’t get her, there will be terrible criticism, but we got her back—that’s the most important thing. We got Alice Guo back—for me, that is already mission accomplished,” Abalos said.

The interior secretary also explained the exchange he and Guo had as they met for the first time in Indonesia, parts of which were recorded on video and amplified by a microphone

“We are not close … I don’t know Alice Guo. It’s only that time that I was able to talk to her closely,” Abalos said.

He said he thought it was his first time to see Guo face to face, but the dismissed mayor told him that they had met earlier in Tarlac when the provincial governor Susan Yap called for a meeting with all the local chief executives.