BAGUIO CITY—Events organizer Tim Yap and actress KC Concepcion paid fines for violating COVID-19 protocols during Yap’s birthday party which outraged Baguio folk for allegedly flaunting its lavishness in the middle of a surge in coronavirus infections in the city.
Yap paid only P1,500 for failing to wear a mask and not practicing social distancing during his Jan. 17 birthday party which led to Mayor Benjamin Magalong’s resignation as the country’s contact tracing czar.
Videos and photographs of Yap’s lavish party triggered outrage from Baguio residents for its alleged insensitivity to the surge of infection currently being suffered by the summer capital.
Magalong attended the party, but had launched an investigation amid social media criticisms that Yap and his guests were given special treatment.
One video shows Yap’s guests participating in a traditional community dance without masks. Yap himself was photographed without a mask while astride a horse, alongside another rider who was garbed in a cultural G-string while on horseback.
One of Yap’s guests, actress KC Concepcion, paid the same fine at the city treasurer’s office for violating city ordinance No. 45 series of 2020 which mandates wearing of masks in public places and metes out punishment for not doing so.
They also violated ordinance No. 45 which required social distancing while the public health crisis has not been lifted.
Receipts posted by the city information office were dated Jan. 28.
Magalong’s wife, Arlene, paid P1,000 on Jan. 29 because she was photographed at the party without a mask.
The Camp John Hay Manor, which hosted Yap’s party, paid P9,000 for failing to enforce quarantine regulations at the gathering.
The hotel was also investigated for failing to secure a city government clearance before proceeding with Yap’s party. Birthday parties are permitted during modified general community quarantine but only for a limited number of participants and after the city licensing office inspects the venue to ensure all health protection devices and measures were in place.
The Manor was also investigated for serving alcoholic beverages beyond a prescribed ceiling set by the government.