Malou Guanzon-Apalisok
The response of controversial barangay Mabolo captain Prisca Niña Mabatid over allegations that she behaved badly when a security officer of the Waterfront Hotel and Casino asked her and her companion to register as they were about to go up the hotel last June 26, 2018 is puzzling because she took it immediately to mean that the hotel worker mistook her for an escort or a high class prostitute.
When the scandal broke out last week, I heard a broadcast commentator saying, quoting unnamed sources, that security officers of high class hotels are usually placed on “alert” status at past midnight until the wee hours of the morning because it is during this period that prostitutes “attack” hotels.
One sees them in the bar having drinks or just killing time in the hotel lobby.
They are often seen wearing signature clothes and bags and own expensive phones. In other words, they adapt to the environment.
It is a startling point because when one talks about Cebu’s red light district, only one place comes to mind – Barangay Kamagayan located in the heart of Cebu City.
Drugs and prostitution infest this urban barangay which is close to a Catholic church and university and a number of police precincts tending other villages.
Many years back, the sleazy side of Cebu City prompted a local councilman to call an honest to goodness clean-up of the village.
I don’t know if the campaign became successful and caused the women to look for business opportunities in classy hotels as implied by the commentary but I think it carries an interesting glimpse of the oldest profession in the age of technology.
News articles say that criminal activities are being fueled by the internet and so we hear of cyber pornography, hacking of bank security, cyber terrorism and prostitutes getting calls through the web and their hand-held gadgets.
In that context, it is not surprising to hear high end hotels also offering rigid security measures alongside pleasurable experiences.
It’s no longer uncommon to hear cases of male hotel guests being robbed by female companions.
Sometimes, policemen are able to track down these women as having links with criminal syndicates who prey on wealthy businessmen and foreigners.
In some cases, they end up either with empty pockets or killed in cold blood.
In short, Welbert Pepito, the hotel security officer who figured in the controversy with Prisca Niña Mabatid and her companion Ramon Floresta cannot be faulted for doing his job.
Assuming Pepito knew that Niña Mabatid was a barangay official and a frequent guest, it was still his duty to ask her if she had logged in because house protocol called for it.
When it rains, it pours.
That seems to be the lot of Barangay Captain Mabatid as she deals with another case filed by her rival in the 2018 barangay elections.
Reports say that Daniel Francis Arguedo has filed a petition for quo warranto seeking to nullify Mabatid’s proclamation before the Municipal Trial Court in Cities.
According to an archived article by the Inquirer, quo warranto is Latin for “by what warrant or authority?”
It is a legal procedure used to challenge an individual’s right to or authority over the position he or she holds.
Arguedo claims that Mabatid is not a resident of Mabolo but of Barangay Talamban.
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