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Bikinis are nothing new in Boracay — practically every woman on the island walks around wearing one — but one bikini-clad Taiwanese tourist was called out by the police yesterday for wearing one so tiny that it was barely there at all.
The unidentified tourist, believed to be in her 20s, was summoned by the Boracay police after photos of her wearing the most microscopic of bikinis — one in red, and another in white — circulated on social media.
“Several residents and tourists took photos of her on Wednesday and Thursday because of what she was wearing,” Maj. Jess Baylon, the town’s police chief, told The Philippine Daily Inquirer in an interview. “It was literally a string.”
The micro bikinis (although “micro” almost makes them sound too big) shocked residents and tourists so much that the authorities tracked down the Taiwanese woman, whom they learned was staying at a hotel in the island’s Station 1.
She was urged to come to the police station yesterday afternoon and showed up with her boyfriend and a hotel worker in tow. She didn’t apologize for her attire, however, and instead told the cops that there was nothing wrong with the dental-floss she was sporting, adding that the garments, such as they are, were comfortable and a “form of expression,” according to Radyo Inquirer.
Baylon, however, dismissed her explanations. He told Panay News, “[M]aybe it is her way of expressing how they appreciate the beauty of the island and the beauty of her body. But in our conservative culture, it is unacceptable.”
Baylon also noted that, based on his own observations and years of investigative experience, the woman probably works as a model.
Boracay does not prohibit the wearing of skimpy attire, so the Taiwanese tourist was ordered to pay a fine of PHP2,500 (US$48.52) for purportedly violating an ordinance that forbids the taking and display of lewd photographs — though, it would sort of appear to us that all those other busybodies were the ones taking the lewd photos.
Nonetheless, she will not be allowed to leave the island today if she does not pay the fine.
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