He's the Philippine government official who can't help taking a selfie. And sometimes, with press access limited, he often gives the world its the first - and only - glimpse of what goes on behind closed doors at the high-level meetings involving world leaders.
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Christopher Lawrence Go has been dubbed the "national photobomber" by the press in the Philippines.
His more formal title is the special assistant to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. And he is something of a selfie savant known for snapping pictures of himself with just about every person he meets ??? with or without their permission.
Go, who goes by the nickname "Bong Go," had the opportunity to meet a lot of famous people at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) conference in Manila this week. Did he rise to the occasion? Yes, he did.
On Monday, shortly after Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and US President Donald Trump met with Duterte for closely-watched, closed door meetings possible covering human rights, Go was there with his camera, snapping a revealing portrait of the three men, deep in conversation.
Not long after, he published a trove of snaps, including a doozy of a portrait with the US president and a revealing image of Turnbull taking a selfie with Duterte.
Taking an evocative picture with Trump would have satisfied most men. But not Go.
Lest his fans interpret the Trump snap as of sign that the Philippines is no longer "separating" from the United States - as Duterte proclaimed last year - Go also got a picture with China's premier, Li Keqiang.
Posing with the likes of new New Zealand leader Jacinda Arden, Shinzo Abe of Japan, Moon Jae-in of South Korea and Russia's Dmitry Medvedev, among many, many, others, would have exhausted most men. Go was not close to finished, pursuing the selfie-lover's showpiece: a picture with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Selfies with world leaders at ASEAN 2017Posted by Christopher Bong Go on Sunday, 12 November 2017
Ceding to Trudeau's well-known selfie expertise, Go let the photogenic Canadian prime minister take the picture for him. And what a picture.
Posted by Christopher Bong Go on Sunday, 12 November 2017
Monday's shots are, in some ways, a departure for Go, who rose to fame as a photobomber, not a photographer par excellence.
Among Filipinos, Go is famous for inserting himself in pictures of people who do not know he is there.
And it's not just about his smug mug. Over the weekend, he dutifully posted the first photograph of Duterte and Trump.
Washington Post, Fairfax Media
