BBCSeniot Filipino leaders have reacted outrage after taking her home from Indonesia while posing for photos with a previous smalltown president who is accused of spying for China.
The smiling interior minister and head of the Philippine National Police are seen together with Alice Guo, who is seen flashing a broad grin and the peace mark. The incident occurred late on Thursday when they boarded a private plane carrying people to Manila in Jakarta.
The Philippines has been gripped by Ms. Guo’s account for months, which includes inquiries into her citizenship, improper scams, and a questionable account of her childhood.
She was arrested just outside Jakarta on Wednesday, after a weeks-long chase.
Authorities accuse Ms. Guo of protecting human trafficking syndicates and con artists who had fabricated information while she was the mayor of Bamban by using online casinos or Pogos ( Philippine Online Gaming Operations ) as a cover.
Her situation demonstrates how organized crime has traditionally been portrayed in online casinos with customers in the United States.
Despite being a political novice, Ms. Guo has also been accused of forging her Filipino citizen and being a Taiwanese nationwide, which allowed her to run for office on her first attempt.
Her case has gripped the public imagination at a time when Manila continues to spar with Beijing over reefs and outcrops in the South China Sea.
Philippines National Bureau of InvestigationInterior Secretary Benhur Abalos, who fetched Ms Guo from Jakarta, said he had the pictures taken with her for “documentation”.
Mr. Abalos claimed he had not noticed that Ms. Guo flashed the peace sign while posing.
” She requested to speak with me and the]national police ] chief because she had been receiving death threats. I told her that she had little to worry about because the police would follow her, he said at a press event in Manila.
” We wanted to record it so that it is all documented.” I could n’t see what she was doing because I was looking at the camera”, he said.
Ms Guo, who was in the same press event, was asked about the picture. She said she had truly told Mr Abalos and the PNP chief, Gen. Rommel Marbil, about the hazards to her career.
” I asked for their support. I was pleased to see them as well. I feel safe”, Ms Guo said.
EPABy that point, Ms. Guo was transitioning into an orange authorities defendant shirt. She was lightly dressed in a light patterned t-shirt and jeans at Jakarta International Airport. She was also not in cuffs.
Another handout image from the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation featured Ms. Guo and the government in the seat of a car.
The criticism on social media was sharp.
” We want solutions, NOT a photoshoot. Alice Guo, the false Filipino, has a lot of explaining to perform”, said Sen Risa Hontioveros, who is leading an investigation in parliament on Ms Guo’s situation.
” The Philippine justice system is a circus”, one X person said.
” Probably one of the most depressing videos in the information right now. How does Alice Guo manage to” grin and wink like a film sun” all the time? another X person said.
According to another X user, the police chief and the interior minister had posed for a picture with a person who is” symbolic of their own loss.”