September 6, 2024 | 2:04pm
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday did not mind the selfies of various officials with Alice Guo, saying that it was merely “part of the new culture.”
In an ambush interview in Rizal province on the effects of Severe Tropical Storm Enteng (international name: Yagi), Marcos said that the officials probably just wanted to post it as proof that they were part of the operation.
“Ang tawag natin sa Pilipinas, we are the selfie capital of the world ‘di ba? Eh ‘di nag selfie. ‘Di mo naman mapigilan ang tao na ngumiti, so… they just had a selfie. I don’t think, I don’t think there’s much more to it than that,” Marcos said.
(The Philippines is the selfie capital of the world right? So they took a selfie. You cannot stop people from smiling so… they just had a selfie. I don’t think, I don’t think there’s much more to it than that.)
To recall, Marcos himself has a photo with Guo when he was running for president in 2022. However, he said he does not recall this, as many people ask to take photos with him..
Marcos’ Philippine National Police Chief General Rommel Marbil and Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. were the ones who fetched Guo from Jakarta after Indonesian authorities apprehended her.
During their meeting, Abalos and Marbil took a photo with a smiling Guo, who seemed unbothered by the cases waiting for her in the Philippines.
Abalos has also denied that there was any special treatment for Guo, saying that the photo was necessary to document their meeting with Guo. He also said he did not notice Guo posing the way she did in the photos.
Asked by the media if he acted too cordial with Guo, Abalos said that Guo was telling him that they already met in a previous meeting between the Interior secretary and Tarlac mayors.
“What is important now is that she is in the custodial center of Crame and I have a search and warrant of arrest issued for her,” Abalos said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Marcos wants the truth
In the ambush interview, Marcos said he was hoping to hear Guo explain how the criminal enterprise from Philippine offshore gaming operators grew.
“What I want to hear from her is for her to lay out, exactly, how these POGOs became so such a large, basically it’s a criminal enterprise and as mayor, for her to say she did not know this was going on, it’s very difficult to believe,” he said.
Guo should also answer for how she was able to accumulate her wealth and how she was able to secure the mayoral post in Bamban. He also hoped that Guo is able to answer better than her captured cohorts, Cassandra Ong and Shiela Guo.
The dismissed mayor currently faces multiple charges of human trafficking and money laundering due to her alleged activities with POGOs.
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