QUARANTINE BREACH | Police file complaint against ‘Poblacion Girl’ for skipping quarantine

January 4, 2022 , 09:50 PM

By Clarist Mae Zablan, News5 Digital

(January 4, 2022) – The Philippine National Police (PNP) filed a complaint before the Makati City prosecutor’s office against a woman who broke quarantine protocols to attend a party, disregarding threats of a highly infectious coronavirus disease (COVID-19) variant.

The PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) filed charges against a woman known as “Poblacion Girl” and eight other, including her parents, her boyfriend, and staff from Berjaya Hotel Makati, said Major General Albert Ignatius Ferro.

“Nais natin ipagpatuloy ang masusing pag iimbestiga para kung may bribery or perang dumaan sa kamay ng mga taong involved dito sa aming pag iimbestiga ay mapatawan din ng kaukulang kaso,” Ferro said.

Based on an initial CIDG investigation, Ferro said they found Gwyneth Chua, who had traveled to the United States, arrived in Berjaya on the night of December 22 to check in, but was fetched by her father to leave minutes later.

CCTV footage and accounts from witnesses showed she had dinner with her boyfriend in a restaurant in Poblacion a day after. Her mother sent her back to the hotel on Christmas night.

The hotel’s manager, assistant resident manager, security manager, doorman, and front desk counter personnel were also liable for failing to immediately report on the quarantine violation, Ferro said.

“May tinatawag po kasing na one-stop shop ang DOT. Kapag yung tao nasa quarantine facilities kailangan once na nag-violate ireport kaagad. In the case of Ms. Chua yang Berjaya po hindi nag-report sa one stop shop ng DOT,” he said.

Chua had admitted she skipped the quarantine protocols to tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, after a tweet trended on social media alleging that a Makati hotel allowed a guest to leave and attend a party in Makati’s Poblacion area. She tested positive for COVID-19 days after the party.

Quarantine protocols in Metro Manila tightened on Monday after COVID-19 cases spike tenfold in just one week.

Experts fear the surge may have been caused by the Omicron variant, which has recently caused record infections in the United States and the United Kingdom.

The Health Department tallied 5,434 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the highest in more than two months. Health experts expect daily infections to rise even higher than the previous surge last year driven by the Delta variant.

(MM | With reports from Ryan Ang, News5)

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