The English chef incident

Last week, a social media post of Governor Gwen Garcia made it to the headlines. It was not only a local story, but something of big importance. English chef Jason Atherton was allegedly mauled by Cebuanos in an uptown bar. His face showed the result of what transpired that night; blue and bruised. Despite an unpleasant experience, he smiled in front of the Governor's camera for a photo.

The story unfolded days later as the post gained traction. Garcia made her statement through the Capitol's official platform in a narration of the timeline of events. She was quick to call out the bar, those involved in the incident, and the bar owners themselves. It makes perfect sense to bring attention to the limelight. An internationally-acclaimed chef, who has found a home in Cebu, experienced a traumatic evening.

While others think it was of no importance or simply a show, I and those who highly regard reputation think otherwise. The incident, that was supposedly "settled amicably", was not something to be shelved so quickly. Let alone, being hidden from the public's eye. In times like these when Cebu is making its way to the global arena, we have to take care of how we look and more so how we treat other nationalities.

Atherton claimed that his daughter was harassed by Cebuano men. If this allegation started the brawl, then this should have been the starting point of investigation by the authorities. They cannot just jump directly to the mauling, it’s simply cause and effect. They should know better, on top of the millions of protocols they are mandated to follow.

Certainly though, its recourse has taken its turn and the police are now making ways to amend the situation. Dialogues were made, and another investigation is underway. Yet, it doesn't change the fact of what happened that night.

Garcia was not wrong in resorting to social media on the incident. She knows her jurisdiction, where it ends and begins. That's how the platform works anyway, to call the attention of those who need to do their jobs right. As for the bar where it happened, they are entitled to their defense, anyway. I had a bad encounter with their personnel that night as well. They gave us sharp eyes, judgmental treatment, as if I and my friends couldn't afford a table. Had we stayed, I could have witnessed the whole incident and found myself in another traumatic experience.

As the world talks about the incident, several opinions surface. Others see no regard to tourism, honor, and basic etiquette. To some, they know how grave the situation was. It was not only some prominent person involved in a fight. The point is that a woman, a minor no less, was treated less than what she is. Don't question why she was in the bar, because her parents were with her. We question why males have to hit on random women.