Neri Naig saves beauties in distress

Neri Naig of ABS-CBN Star Circle came to the aid of the downhearted contestants of the Miss Young International 2008 which turned out to be a scam. The NBI arrested event organizer Mark Ancheta, president and CEO of MYA Elite Philippines, for ripping off 21 young ladies from different countries.

“They said it was their first decent meal since arriving in the Philippines. Some of them were crying,” says Neri about meeting the contestants, whose ages ranged from 18 to 24. “I really felt for them. Footing the girls’ meals was so small a price to arrest a damaged reputation.”

Neri was part of the Top 5 of the first batch of Star Circle which included Hero Angeles, Roxanne Guinoo and Sandara Park. “We should not allow shady characters like these to drag down the reputation of our country,’’ says Neri who along with friend Avianne Torres were introduced by an acquaintance to the contestants during a dinner on Dec. 8, the pageant’s supposed coronation night.

The pageant had all the traits of a scam. No officials from the organizers welcomed contestants at the airport. They were billeted in a rundown hotel they described as horrendous . Food was limited to combo meals. There was also no official vehicle assigned to shuttle the ladies back and forth to “functions.” The ladies even paid for their fares. Worse, they were brought to a pub to meet “VIPs“ only to pose as guest relation officers.

Neri vows to help the ladies up until all of them have left the country.