A US citizen was arrested after a confrontation in which he allegedly challenged a Davao City councilor to a fistfight inside a mall on Sunday.
According to a report in GMA News, an American identified as Gary Joseph Maraviglia cursed at Al Ryan Alejandre, a member of the Davao City Council, for allegedly taking a photo of his credit card so he could then use the card number to make purchases.
In the police report, Maraviglia allegedly bragged that he couldn’t get arrested because he was a US citizen.
Well, he was wrong.
Alejandre, who serves as chairman of the city’s international relations and tourism committees, said Maraviglia also challenged him to a fist fight. The story contained no info on the how or why of the alleged credit card snapping.
Davao City is the same city where Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte served as a local official for almost 30 years.
While we don’t know who’s at fault in this admittedly odd incident, we do know one thing: Yes, people of any nationality — including Americans — can get arrested for breaking laws in the Philippines.
So if you’re coming for a visit, try not to do that.
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