The Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) said that it was filing cases against Gwyneth Chua, the woman found to have breached quarantine protocols after arriving from the United States, as well as her parents and six others.
This comes after social media went viral with posts of Chua, who was spotted partying at two restaurants in the Poblacion district in Makati on December 23 after checking in at the Berjaya Makati Hotel for her mandatory quarantine on December 22.
“CIDG will be filing cases against nine persons, including Ms. Chua, her father and mother, and several personnel of the hotel (quarantine facility),” the CIDG said in a statement.
Police will file violations under RA 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act, which mandates the cooperation of everybody in a public health crisis.
“As for the individuals who were in the company of Gwyneth Anne Chua on the night of December 23, 2021 and were allegedly infected by the virus, CIDG did not find sufficient evidence to charge them with any offense in relation to the violations committed by Ms. Chua,” the CIDG added.
Police encouraged the individuals to file complaints before the CIDG for further referral to the prosecutor’s office.
Department of Tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat later confirmed that Chua had bribed staff of the Berjaya Hotel to skip quarantine but later tested positive for COVID-19—potentially causing a superspreader event after possibly infecting 15 people.
Social media expressed their outrage towards Chua, who supposedly boasted about having connections, for abusing her privilege, endangering others, and contributing to the surge of COVID-19 cases in the metro—dubbing her as “Poblacion girl.”
Meanwhile, Berjaya Hotel, where Chua checked in for her mandatory 14-day quarantine period, said that it would “severely sanction” erring staff members after initially denying that Chua breached quarantine protocols.
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