Beauty queen, BF to face charges

CEBU, Philippines — More charges will be filed against a former Cebuana beauty queen and her Spanish boyfriend for allegedly falsifying a public document.

This after Patrol partylist denied issuing a certification to Maria Gigante, 26, and Javier Filosa Castro, 25, for the distribution of relief goods.

The partylist also clarified that the suspects are not members of the partylist group.

Police Colonel Roderick Mariano, chief of Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO), said Congressman Jorge Bustos, partylist representative, has threatened to file charges for falsification of public document against the couple.

“It was already denied by the partylist at hindi naman daw nila tao yun at pineke ang kanilang pirma,” Mariano said.

Authorities are now checking where the certification came from.

The certification was allegedly used by the couple to get past checkpoints in southern Cebu en route to Moalboal town.

They allegedly told authorities manning the checkpoints that they were to survey a community in Alegria for a relief mission.

Instead, Gigante and Castro were caught swimming at a beach and possessing alcoholic drinks in Barangay Basdiot, Moalboal town, Sunday afternoon amid the prevailing enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

Police arrested them and are currently detained at the town’s police station.

Their vehicle, which had a sticker bearing the seal of the House of Representatives, was also impounded.

Yesterday, Gigante and Castro were charged for violating Governor Gwendolyn Garcia’s Executive Order on the ECQ, and for disobeying persons in authority during the arrest.

Moreover, Engineer Yolito Saagundo, acting leader of an enforcement group of Regional Inter-Agency Task Force (RITF) assigned in Santa Fe, Bantayan, said the suspects were also intercepted at the port for failing to show a proper document from the provincial government last April 22.

They were not allowed to board the ship bound for Bantayan. Thus, Gigante and her boyfriend returned to Cebu City on the same day.

To prevent similar incident from happening again, policemen manning checkpoints are called on to strengthen the quarantine control points.  KQD (FREEMAN)