By Liezelle Soriano

MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. defended Philippine authorities who took selfies with dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo after fetching her from Indonesia.

He described taking selfies as part of the new culture.

“I think it’s part of the new culture now— people taking selfies with anything. They post it online, saying ‘Look, I was with the team that arrested this person,'” Marcos said on Friday (September 6, 2024).

“In the Philippines, we are known as the selfie capital of the world, right? So they took selfies. You can’t stop people from smiling. They just took a selfie; I don’t think there’s much more to it,” the President added.

Earlier, the country’s law enforcement authorities faced criticism for taking selfies with Guo as they brought her back from Indonesia.

Guo arrived in the country on September 6 around 1:30 a.m.

Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos and Philippine National Police Chief General Rommel Marbil traveled to Indonesia for Guo’s turnover from foreign authorities to the Philippines.

ia/mnm