Abalos: No special treatment for Alice Guo

Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos on Friday assured the public that there would be no special treatment for dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo.

Speaking to Palace reporters, Abalos said he did his best to bring Guo back to the country from Indonesia where she was arrested on Wednesday. Guo is facing a graft case as well as human trafficking and money laundering complaints in the Philippines.

''I've done my best, mission accomplished, nadala ko po si Alice Guo (I was able to bring home Alice Guo) and there are no special treatments," said Abalos, who flew to Indonesia on Thursday to personally take custody of Guo.

"Right now may mugshot siya, nakakulong po siya ngayon sa kulungan (she is currently detained), no cellphone, no aircon, just like an ordinary detainee,'' Abalos added. 

Abalos also denied that he was cordial with Guo as he explained the circulating video wherein the dismissed local official told him that she supposedly received death threats.

''No, ang nangyari niyan noong dumating siya sabi ko, parang kakilala daw niya ko so sabi ko teka muna saan kita nakilala... now I remember because as DILG mayroong governor, si Governor Yap nagpaorganize with meetings of all of the mayors of Tarlac. So they were there. Doon kami nag-uusap,'' Abalos explained.

(No, what happened was when she arrived, she said she knew me and I asked her how. Now I remember because as DILG, Governor Yap organized meetings with all of the mayors of Tarlac so they were there.)

''Sinasabi niya, 'Sir ako po 'yung ganito... Ah oo ikaw nga 'yan, sabi kong ganon. Ganon lang 'yun, there's nothing to it,'' he added. 

(She said, it's me and I said oh it's really you. It's just that, there's nothing to it.) 

Earlier, Abalos also addressed the photo, which has gone viral and criticized by many netizens, saying that it was taken for documentation purposes. It shows him and top cop Police General Rommel Marbil with a candid-looking Guo sitting between them.

Lawmakers Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte and Dan Fernandez of Laguna also weighed in on the apparent celebrity treatment of Guo.

“If what happened in these photos indeed happened, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth because, for one, she was arrested there because she tried to escape accountability here. That is why she was cited in contempt by the Senate,” Barbers told reporters in a virtual press conference.

“She is not a celebrity. And why are these photos being shared around in the first place?” Barbers, chairman of the House dangerous drugs panel, added.

Fernandez said the incident should serve as a lesson.

“I hope we learn from this mistake. I thought their approach did not meet the expectations of our people. Maybe they used reverse psychology, tried to get sympathy [from Guo], to get her trust and confidence. But you cannot be too complacent,” Fernandez, chairperson of the House public order and safety committee, added.

Guo left the country in July despite her name being on the immigration lookout bulletin.

She arrived in the Philippines a few minutes after 1 a.m. on Friday aboard a private plane at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City. —with a report from Llanesca Panti/KBK/VBL, GMA Integrated News