Police: No special treatment for beauty queen and Spanish boyfriend

Police Captain Alvino Enguito, Moalboal police station chief. CDN Digital photo |  Raul Constantine Tabanao

MOALBOAL, CEBU—The chief of the Moalboal police station denied rumors that Cebuana beauty queen Maria Gigante and her Spanish boyfriend Javier Filosa Castro are given special treatment while detained in an isolation center here.

Gigante and Castro were nabbed by the police on Sunday afternoon, May 10, 2020, for swimming on a public beach in Panagsama, Barangay Basdiot and drinking beer while the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was still in effect.

Read: Cebuana beauty queen on ECQ violation arrest: No comment

“Wala may special treatment sa ila. Gi-lahi lang gyud na sila og priso kay considered as Persons Under Monitoring (PUMs) man na sila. Mao isolated [sa isolation cell],” said Moalboal police station chief Police Captain Alvino Enguito.

(We don’t give special treatment to them. We separated them from other detainees because they are considered as Persons under Monitoring (PUMs). That’s why we isolated them.)

Both have already been charged for disobedience to a person in authority in relation to Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia’s Executive Order on the ECQ.

Additional charges for falsification of documents will also be filed against both as it was found out that they were using a fake document to get past quarantine control points en route to this town which is around 86 kilometers southwest of Cebu City.

Read: Additional charges to be filed against Cebuana beauty queen, BF

The police chief added that they strictly watching over the couple and didn’t allow visitation except for those who would bring food for the two.

“Sa isolation, wa ni sila giipon, wala pud sila’y cellphone…naay muhatud og pagkaon para nila, wa lang ko kabalo gyud if friends ba or relatives nila,” he said.

(We separated the couple in the isolation center. We also confiscated their cellphones…there are people who bring food to them but I am not sure if they are friends or relatives of the two)

“Ang bisita igo ra gyud muhatud og pagkaon unya i-logbook pud kung kinsa ang naghatud,” he added.

(The visitors will just hand the food to them and we let these visitors to sign in the logbook)

Enguito said the couple are “okay” and “behaving” at the Women and Children Crisis Center, where they were guarded by Navy reservists from the 513rd Naval Squadron.

Tracing email

Meanwhile, Police Colonel Roderick Mariano, chief of the Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO), told the media during a call conference on Wednesday morning, May 13, 2020, that they are now working to identify the sender of the email where the fake document used by the couple to get past checkpoints came from.

Once the authorities have identified the person who sent that email, which contains the fake certification from Patrol Partylist, this person may also be facing charges depending on the results of the investigation.

“Initial natin nga investigation na ginawa nung Moalboal police station may nag email sa kanya. I know naman na kilala naman niya, kaya i-identify lang natin. ‘Yun yung iniibestigahan natin, kung sino yung tao na yun,” said Mariano.

(According to the initial investigation done by the Moalboal police station, they were able to find out that someone sent Castro an email with the fake certification. I know that he (Castro) knows the sender but he won’t tell us. That’s what we’re trying to do now, identify the sender.)

The two will remain in the isolation facility until a decision from the fiscal will be released.

“So antayin lang natin kung ano yung resulta sa piscalya then if, they can bail or maka pag bail sila or kung ano yong ano na tapusin nila yung 14- day quarantine nila dun sa area,” he added.

(We will just wait for the results of the fiscal if they can be released through bail or if they will have to finish the 14-day quarantine in the area.) /bmjo