‘Beautiful Girl Charged’

Asturias police file estafa case for P15,000 in unpaid resort bills School records show she’s just 16 Vice governor looking for girl’s family

She’s  16, in the spotlight, and in trouble with the law.

Police yesterday filed an estafa complaint with the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office against a teenager from Leyte who failed to pay her bills after staying three days  alone in a resort in Asturias town, Cebu.

The age of “J”, who became a a viral subject on the Internet for previous episodes of shoplifting and unpaid bills in a beauty salon in Metro Cebu, was established yesterday  as 16 based on school records and the account of a relative interviewed by Cebu Daily News.

The mestiza teenager, who had told resort staff she was 23 years old, was escorted to the prosecutor’s office at 5 p.m. yesterday by an  police officer from the Children and Women’s Protection Desk of the Asturias police.

The teenager didn’t have cash to  to pay for the P5,000-a-day room, a total bill of P15,000 a the Cabo  San Miguel  Resort.
For the past few days, she’s been widely discussed on the Internet, where her Facebook photos  and accounts of her arrest spread quickly with the tag “beautiful shoplifter in Cebu”.
As a minor, her   real identity cannot be disclosed and all court records will be considered “privileged and confidential” under the Juvenile Justice Act or Republic Act 9344.

CRUCIAL AGE
Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale stepped into the picture yesterday and asked her staff to locate a verified copy of the girl’s birth certificate.
The age is critical because child offenders below 18 years old cannot be imprisoned, but  have to undergo a  government  intervention program and must be released to the custody of parents or a guardian or a government welfare agency.

The rule is absolute for those 15 years old and below.
But youth offenders aged 16 or 17 can still be charged and imprisoned if they acted with “discernment” or with  knowledge of what is right and wrong.

Yesterday, two social workers certified that “J” acted with discernment. This prompted the Asturias police to go ahead and file the criminal charge of estafa.

Magpale  yesterday wrote to Sogod Mayor Imelda Tan to take the girl into their custody since the teenager  was a resident of the Southern Leyte town.

Magpale said that since the case involves a minor, the Cebu Provincial Council on the Welfare of Children where she is co-chairperson, is obliged to protect her.

She said she hopes Sogod  has a  program to handle children in conflict with the law.
“We are constrained to extend full assistance inasmuch as we don’t have jurisdiction over constituents of local government units outside the jurisdiction of Cebu Province,” the vice governor’s letter read.
Magpale, with two social workers from the Provincial Social Welfare Office, interviewed “J”  about 2 p.m.  yesterday.
The teenager repeated her claim to the police that she was only 16.

“Physically, I could not believe she was 16 years old. I had to do my homework,” Magpale told reporters.
The vice governor said they got in touch with a school in Sogod, Southern Leyte where “J”  spent her sophomore year in high school and a few months of junior high.

According to the school’s principal, “J”  was 15 years old when she enrolled in 2012.  The student  dropped out of school after four months in her junior year.
“If you compute, she’s only 17 at most. We have not verified her birthday yet,” said Magpale.

BIRTHDATE

CDN yesterday interviewed by phone a provincial legislator in Southern Leyte who served as “J’’s foster parent and was related to the girl’s mother.

She said the teenager’s parents were separated and the girl’s mother  had left Leyte  for abroad several years ago.
She said J was  born on July 18, 1998, making her 16 years old.

After the teenager’s arrest on a shopfliting charge in Mandaue City, the legislator said they brought her back to Southern Leyte, but “J” suddenly left home last November without asking permission.  Then came the news about the unpaid resort bills  in Asturias.

This is the first time  the girl’s  age has been determined.
“J” gave varying answers when the resort staff in Asturias asked her  age. She stated her  age as  19 then 23.

The vice governor said her staff are still trying to get a verified copy of her birth certificate from the Philippine Statistics Authority (formerly the National Statistics Office).
Magpale said the process can start in Cebu since the minor is already here.
“We better start it here because our social workers are working on her already. Here in the province, we are ready. Aside from social workers, we have child specialists as well,” she said.
Magpale would not tell reporters the results of the social workers’ interview with the minor.

In the meantime, J will be sent to an accredited  facility in the city run by a  non-government organization.

Two female security guards from the  Capitol will keep watch over the minor until she is  picked up on Monday by  the Provincial Social Welfare Office.

From then on, the girl will be under the protective custody of the DSWD.
J also faces a separate estafa charge filed by a  salon owner in Cebu City  for availing of hair and nail treatments, and eyelash extensions  then walking out without paying her P2,000 bill.