CEBU, Philippines — Authorities arrested a former Cebuana beauty queen and her Spanish boyfriend who were caught swimming at a beach and possessing alcoholic drinks in Barangay Basdiot, Moalboal town, south Cebu Sunday afternoon amid the prevailing enhanced community quarantine.
They were identified as Maria Gigante, 26, and Javier Filosa Castro, 25. Gigante won as Binibining Cebu Charity 2017 and was a candidate in the nationwide Binibining Pilipinas pageant back in 2016.
The suspects allegedly claimed they were going to a community in Alegria in order to conduct relief mission.
Police Senior Master Sargent Estewart Bayang, case investigator, revealed that earlier on, the suspects allegedly told checkpoint personnel that Gigante and Castro were to “pick up something in Alegria,” showing a certification allegedly issued by a congressman.
“Ang pagsulod nila diri sa atong area, ang ilaha man gung sakyanan is naay back to back, (then ila gipakita) usa ka bondpaper man gyud ni nga naay logo sa partylist bitaw, unya nagpakita sad sa ilang ID with certification issued by a certain congressman,” Bayang said.
As per checkpoint protocol, the personnel had to ask them of the purpose of their travel. When the two showed the document, they were then asked to proceed to the second boundary checkpoint.
However, when the suspects' vehicle failed to stop or show up at next checkpoint, the police personnel then started alarming other police stations and searched for them.
It was then that they received a report that the two were seen drinking and swimming in a beach.
“Niana sila nga gikan silag Cebu City unya ilang destination is Alegria. Ang guidelines man gud diri sa Moalboal is i-record namo tung moagi, dayon ibato namo sa pikas boundary nga moagi ni dira nga certain nga sakyanan nga maoy plate number,” Bayang said.
“Taod-taod wala man gyud ni moagi ngadto, mao tung gi-trace nato og asa paingon. Instead nga moadto silag Alegria kay kuno na lagi daw silay pick up-pon ug maghatod og goods,” he added.
Bayang said that the suspects allegedly showed resistance to authorities during arrest.
The suspects will face charges for violation of the executive order that prohibits entry of non-residents during ECQ, the EO on liquor ban, and resistance and disobedience to authorities.
Meanwhile, Police Captain Alvino Enguito, Moalboal Police Station chief, said a staff worker from the said partylist office called to confirm the legitimacy of the document presented by Gigante and her boyfriend.
However, Enguito said that they will still face charges since the purpose of the certification wasn't met.
Enguito said the suspects should have coordinated with authorities if they had some relief mission to do.
Gwen orders probe
Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia will be contacting Cebu Provincial Police Office Chief Roderick Mariano to know as to how a Cebuana pageant queen and her foreign boyfriend were able to cross the border from Cebu City and pass through multiple checkpoints south of the province.
In an online press briefing yesterday, Garcia reported that she has heard of the news of Cebuana pageant queen and model Maria Gigante and her Spanish national boyfriend Javier Castro’s arrest in Moalboal, Cebu.
Gigante and Castro were caught drinking by the beach last Sunday in Barangay Basdiot, Moalboal.
According to the spot report provided by the Moalboal Police Station, the two travelled from Cebu City via a private vehicle with a congressional partylist seal stuck to it.
Garcia said the duo allegedly claimed to have been instructed by a certain congressman to survey local government units in the province for a donation drive.
The governor pointed out that only district representatives from the province’s seven congressional districts and Cebu City were exempted from the border closure.
"I’m afraid nga naay confusion, naa man gud sa atong exemptions ang congressmen, they are exempted. But, Cebu congressmen," she said.
This is stated in Garia’s Executive Order No.5-Q-1.
Garcia also said she hopes to contact Mariano for an investigation on how the two were able to go past not only the borders but also the checkpoints.
"And I would hope that we can get an investigation… when they had passed the checkpoints, ang border… unsang adlawa so that ang kato rang naka-assigned nga teams ang makapangutana giunsa nila paglusot," she said.
"We just wish to investigate why they are able to go past these checkpoints and maybe to clarify that it is not enough that you see the seal, nagbutang ka diha ug seal sa imong sakyanan ug mo-claim ka nga you are under orders," she added.
Further, she pointed out that even with the seal, the two should not have been allowed entry to the province’s component cities and municipalities. In EO 5-Q-1, Cebu congressmen are required to present their official identification card in checkpoints.
As for the partylist that supposedly gave Gigante and Castro the pass, Garcia pointed out that it was not even a Cebuano partylist.
The partylist has not been named. But the congressman will be contacted by the governor to inform him of the issue.
"We will inform, in fairness to him, nga gigamit iyang pangan," she said.
Apart from crossing the border, the two have also violated Garcia’s EO 5-L prohibiting swimming and other leisure activities in the province’s beaches.
The FREEMAN tried to get a statement from Gigante’s camp but was unable to get a reply as of press time. JMD, GAN (FREEMAN)