Awra Briguela. Images: Instagram/@awrabriguela, Screengrab from Instagram/@limetedryuu
Kapamilya star Awra Briguela was arrested Thursday morning following a brawl that took place outside a bar in Barangay Poblacion, Makati City, a source at the Makati Police said.
In a phone interview, the police investigator who requested anonymity said that Briguela, whose real name is Mcneal Briguela, remained in detention after figuring in a fistfight with a group of people, which was caught on video and then uploaded on social media by netizens.
The police has declined to give further details on the incident, but said that charges have been filed against Briguela.
One video of the incident was uploaded by a certain @limetedryuu on Instagram, but the latter seemed to have already deactivated their account, but their video which has since been re-uploaded on social media showed authorities entering the scene and cornered Briguela. The 19-year-old actor-comedian was then handcuffed and hauled off to the police station.
Part 2 ng today's bidddeeeyyyooowww. Dito siya pinosasan? pic.twitter.com/KcDNEHc13q
— supernegatrona AKA pink 5 (@supernegatrona) June 29, 2023
Details of the incident remain unknown, as of this writing.
However, content creator Zayla Nakajima shed light into the incident saying Briguela merely tried to defend her from a group of men who allegedly tried to sexually harass her.
On Facebook, Nakajima narrated that on Wednesday night, their group of friends went bar-hopping and ended up at Bolthole in Makati. It was there where they encountered her alleged harassers, she said.
“This is to end all made-up stories circulating online about the Bolthole [incident] involving my dearest sister, Awra. Last night, Awra and the rest of our friends decided to club-hop in Poblacion, then we ended up clubbing in Bolthole in Makati. To emphasize, the vibe there is very dark and it uncomfortably crippled to me that I [don’t] feel safe, at all, immediately right when we entered,” she said.
Nakajima has since deleted her Facebook post but a screenshot has been re-uploaded by other netizens.
Awra’s friend has spoken. Read: pic.twitter.com/zzxLWvZ80u
— KING (@unalcohoelic) June 29, 2023
In her original post, Nakajima claimed she was “creepily harassed” by one guy “with two attempts,” revealing that her backside was touched, and that the latter “tried to insert his bare hands inside my bra.” This prompted the actor-comedian to defend her and one other friend.
“He is full-creep and [has] been roaming around the club and every time he gets near to me, I avoid him and that’s where I draw the line. I decided to go home and leave. After this harassment against me and my friend Mary Joy—my dear friend Awra confronted the guy very calmly after the party to defend me and our friend,” she said.
Nakajima said that Briguela and the two men then engaged in a heated argument until it escalated into fisticuffs. She however insisted that it was one of the men who threw the first punch, causing Briguela to retaliate.
“Just because Awra wanted to defend us from [this] creep. The guy threw fists first to Awra, of course as part of self defense, Awra fought back too. This assault is never ok, knowing it’s pride month and we all just want to have fun,” she continued.
The content creator also stressed that she is “filing a strong case” against the unnamed “abuser,” saying Briguela “is just too humane to be defending her girlfriends.”
“I feel like all of our real friends will definitely armor us with this kind of people and Awra is just too humane to be defending her girlfriends and different stories unravel online like a wildfire,” she said. “The handcuffing clips circulating online tolerated negative versions of the story and this is something we don’t take lightly. We are filing a strong case against this abuser and best hope this truth reveals what truly happened.”
“To my friends and Awra’s, please help us mass report anything degrading online. And to the influencers who meddled wrongly in this situation, think before you click. This is not the “content” worth clouting for. This is very wrong,” she continued.
Briguela’s camp and the Makati City Police Station have yet to issue a statement on the matter, as of this writing. The incident took place as the LGBT+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual) community is celebrating the Pride Month. EDV
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