The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) was ordered on Tuesday, Jan. 4, to probe incidents of incoming passengers being allowed to “breach or skip the mandated period of quarantine.”
“Kanina umaga binigyan ko na directive ang NBI, investigate niyo na ito (This morning I gave the directive to the NBI to investigate this),” Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said during a radio interview over DZBB.
Guevarra’s directive was issued after Makati City Mayor Abby Binay announced that the local government will be filing charges against Berjaya Hotel for allowing Gwyneth Anne Chua to party and skip quarantine following her arrival from the United States.
The incident became viral online and earned Chua the monicker “Poblacion Girl.”
“Palagay ko tip of the iceberg lang nangyari sa Makati (I believe what happened in Makati is just the tip of the iceberg),” Guevarra said.
“In all likelihood, madami ganitong nangyayari incident hindi lang nakakarating sa ating kaalaman (there may be many more similar incidents taking place that we do not know),” he pointed out.
During his meeting with NBI Officer-in-Charge Director Eric B. Distor, Guevarra expressed his suspicion that what happened in Makati City was not an isolated case.
“Ang tingin namin dyan baka mula sa airport pa lang may racket na nangyayari (We suspect that there might be a racket going on starting from the airport),” he said.
“Sa halip na dalhin sa qurantine facility baka hinahayaan na makauwi ng bahay so forth and so on (Instead of being taken to quarantine facilities, passengers might be allowed to go straight home or other places),” he added.