Cebuana beauty queen, pal held for beach trip amid lockdown

CEBU CITY –  A Cebuana model and beauty queen and her boyfriend were arrested and detained for breaching quarantine protocols and headed to the beach in Moalboal town, southwest Cebu on Sunday, May 10.

Maria Gigante and her foreign Javier Filosa Castro, allegedly violated the restrictions imposed by the government as a precautionary measure against the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), said Capt. Alvino Enguito, Moalboal police chief.

“We’ve been calling their attention and yet they continue to disregard our advice,” Enguito told the INQUIRER.

An investigation was launched to determine how the couple managed to travel to Moalboal and get past several checkpoints.

Gigante, 26, and Castro, 35, were first spotted driving around Moalboal town, 86 kilometers southwest of Cebu City.

“We asked them to go home but instead of following the police, they instead proceeded to the Panagsama Beach in Barangay Basdiot where they went swimming at around 5:30 p.m.,” Enguito said.

Gigante, who hails from the town of Sta. Fe on Bantayan Island, joined the first Bininibing Cebu pageant where she earned the title Binibining Cebu Charity in 2017.

GSG