Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 5) — The Makati City Prosecution Office said it has found probable cause to charge Gwyneth Chua, also known as “Poblacion girl,” for violating mandatory quarantine protocols in December.
In a media briefer released on Thursday, the prosecutor said it filed a resolution dated April 29 stating that there is probable cause to charge Chua for violating RA 11332.
Chua made headlines last year for allegedly breaking quarantine rules after arriving from the US. She left her isolation hotel to meet with friends in Poblacion, Makati and later tested positive for COVID-19.
Esteban Gatbonton, a security guard of Berjaya Hotel where Chua stayed, was also included in the indictment for “assisting the escape of Gwyneth,” the briefer stated.
The prosecution office added that it did not find probable cause to charge other employees of the hotel since the evidence did not show they knowingly allowed Chua to leave the establishment.
Meanwhile, the complaint against her parents—Allan Dabiwong Chua and Gemma Leonordo-Chua—and boyfriend Rico Atienza, were dropped due to insufficient evidence to charge them for violating the same law.
The police initially filed a complaint against them since Chua’s father fetched her from the hotel on Dec. 22, the same day she arrived from the US, while her mother brought her back to the hotel on Dec. 25. She met her boyfriend and friends in Poblacion, Makati on Dec. 23 and later tested positive for the coronavirus on Dec. 26.
