Mabatid: Guard mistook me for escort
Self-preservation.
This was the defense of Mabolo barangay captain Prisca Niña Mabatid to allegations of misbehaving at a hotel in Cebu City, a video of which became viral online.
In a press conference yesterday, Mabatid said she only defended herself when the hotel guard mistook her for a female escort.
"Na-mistaken ko as an escort. When the guy approached me, nisulti ko, I am not a whore, dili ko escort. Ako si Niña Mabatid. I am the barangay captain of Mabolo. I am a regular guest," she told reporters.
She admitted pointing her fingers at the guard, Welbert Pepito, because she felt that she was being violated as a woman.
"Yes, I pointed finger at him. Why? Nasuko ko and I am emphasizing something. I think that is a normal reaction. Ang uban gani, ang reaction, modiretso og panumbag. Ang uban managpa. Kato akoang actuation didto, dili ko kaingon nga grabe kay I am controlling my temper," she said.
It was Pepito, 40, who filed charges for grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a public officer against Mabatid before the Ombudsman.
His complaint affidavit reads:
"I felt very much belittled and insulted by the manner that barangay captain Mabatid had mocked me and scoffed at my person by shouting at me and pointing fingers at me when I was just trying to do my job. It was obvious that she looked down on my person and my occupation by the way she was shouting at me."
But Mabatid stood her ground that Pepito did not treat her well.
She said that when she and her companion, Ramon Floresta, arrived at the hotel last June 19, Pepito reportedly asked her to register because she is an escort.
"The discourtesy of the security. That's foul gyud. Dili gyud siya pwede. I felt very humiliated; naa baya'y mga tawo. It is not an excuse nga wala siya kaila nako. Maypa unta to gi-ask ko, are you a guest? Sakit baya," she said.
"I will never apologize. I will stand by my principle nga dili pwede tamaktamakan akong pagkababaye and I will stand by my principle nga kaming babaye we deserve respect from them," she added.
She also belied allegations that she was drunk at that time.
VIDEO
Mabatid said it saddened her that the video of the incident, which was caught on closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera, was made public because it does not tell the whole story. For one, it did not show Pepito apologizing to her, something that she was able to capture on camera. She said she will present the video clip as evidence in her defense before the Ombudsman.
"The hotel is like my second home, diha ko magstandby. I love the lobby. I have a good relationship with them actually," Mabatid said.
POLITICAL
Mabatid questioned why the issue surfaced only now when the incident happening on June 19 yet. In fact, Pepito filed the charges before the Ombudsman on June 26.
"I really don't know why it is related to political but I have a feeling there is kay dugay naman ni nahitabo. Ngano naukay man karon? Why it became an issue? Why gi-sensationalize?" Mabatid said.
Mabatid is considering of running for president of the Association of Barangay Councils, although she reportedly has not made her mind up.
Meanwhile, at his press conference, Mayor Tomas Osmeña described Mabatid as a "disgrace" to all barangay captains, as well as to other women for her behavior at the hotel.
"She is a disgrace to barangay captains, she is a disgrace to women…Very bad example, in my simple and very humble opinion, and she's just making the president look bad. She should not talk that way," Osmeña said.
At Mabatid's press conference, however, some women came to support her, bringing a banner that stated, "violence against woman is an appalling human rights violation."
Mabatid was an ally of Osmeña's group, the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan, but Osmeña has already disowned her.