Celebrities, resort owner say sorry

CEBU, Philippines - Two celebrities and the resort owner who figured in the bikini show controversy in Bantayan Island on Black Saturday last year apologized to Governor Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday, almost a year after the incident happened.

Maui Taylor was represented by her mother Annatte Fainsan while Jennifer Lee was accompanied by lawyer Howard Colleja.

Rommel Solomon, owner of the resort where the show was staged, also apologized to the governor.

Fainsan told Garcia she was surprised of her daughter’s involvement into the controversy and that the experience reportedly changed Taylor’s life. She said that as a mother, she would want her daughter to respect the rights of women.

Colleja, on the other hand, said the experience served as a wakeup call for his client and prompted her to concentrate more on her studies. Lee is reportedly enrolled as a junior student in hospitality management and culinary arts.

The parties agreed to have a written apology published in the newspapers so that the apology can be read by the rest of the Cebuanos.

It was also agreed that the persons involved in the issue would help the province promote women’s rights.

Despite the apology, however, it was not clear whether or not the provincial government will withdraw the case it filed against Taylor, Lee, and the other persons involved in the controversy, including show promoter and organizer Elton Tio.

Garcia had described the show as a “shockingly indecent, vulgar and obscene.” The bikini show was held on the evening of Good Friday and lasted until dawn of Black Saturday.

Garcia said earlier she filed the complaint to protect the interest of women.

Garcia said Tio and Solomon allegedly violated the Revised Penal Code while Taylor and Lee allegedly violated the Women’s Development Code of Cebu.

The Revised Penal Code punishes those who will engage in exhibiting indecent or immoral shows while the Women’s Development Code of Cebu prohibits “beauty contests, which tend to commodify, abuse, humiliate and treat women as sex objects.”

For her part, Garcia said she was happy with how the case developed, especially that those who used to be her foes are now the provinces’ partners in advocating women’s rights. — Jose P. Sollano/JMO (THE FREEMAN)