Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia warns that resort and business owners in Cebu Province face stiff penalties for holding bikini contest, including the loss of their privilege to operate a business in the province.
Six Priest from Northern Cebu have asked the Governor to ban bikini contest slated during Holy Week. As it 
turns out, there is already a law on the books that can be used to ban such events. The law has also been used to ban some beauty contest as being humiliating to women.
Chapter 3, Article 1, Section 5 of the Women’s Code prohibits the conduct of beauty contests and other activities in schools, barangays (villages) and other areas that tend to “commodify, abuse, humiliate and treat women as sex objects.”’
For westerners that might seem a little vague and the courts might have issues with it under free speech in the USA, this is not the USA. In the Philippines, common sense still prevails. Executive branches have more power than do in the US.
Having a bikini contest during Holy Week even raised my eyebrows and I enjoy the ones I went too! Holding them during Holy Week in this country Its going to far with it. It is disrespectful to the majority of Filipino. The week is just too important to Filipino. Big festive parties are not part of the remembrance of Holy Week.
The two I went too were actually pretty tame in my mind. One was very tame and that’s the way the owner of the resort wanted it to be. The other was a bit more provocative but less so than the wet t-shirt contest that were held in the USA back in the 70′s. Since I was still in high school, I only heard about those in the press. But again, this is not the USA. There is more common sense applied in the Philippines than would be in American law. I prefer the American way but I would not presume to tell the Philippine people what to do in their own country nor would they appreciate my doing so.
I have not heard the status of the planned bikini contest on Bantayan Island for this week, but if it was my resort, I know I’d be looking into a way to tone it down. Maybe they had been sent the girls out carrying their bikinis!
Bogo City has had a couple of such contest in the past. I went to one and enjoyed myself.
Popularity: 26%
Cebuanos are not as conservative as what this political leader did. It so happen that she do not have political will of letting the business run in purely business way.
I can’t comment on my feelings about the Govener is doing. The guy having the contest went on to have some kind of event that included bikini and is not in a ton of hot water.
he was in a bad spot, having already advertised it heavily, I’m sure some his guest would complain loudly if it didn’t have it. Now he may be out of business.
I think the key here is utter defiance of a direct order from the Governor. If she lets this go, it will become a precedence.
Adrian, they didn’t have a bikini contest, as best as I can tell from the several articles I read on it.
The owner of the resort met with Santa Fe officials (a city on Bantayan) to discuss what he could do. From what I can tell, he did that but they still went after him.
There were girls in bikini but they were dancing. Probably in a very provocative way. He’s trying to say, hey, its a resort, I can’t help what the guest due. That is of course BS, the dancers were celebrities. how many Filipina does one see in bikini normally. Next to zero.
The guy tried to wiggle around “bikini contest” but I don’t think the governor is going to be able to ignore it. Perhaps if the city officials had, then she could have but they brought it to her attention.
I will only say that, I’m a serious fan of binkini, the Ph has a serous shortage of them.
It us not uncommon in the Phils to do things with or without permission from the govt but when there is a clamor or howling about the event, the govt officials will immediately wash their hands,,,esp the local ones. The sad thing is, it happened on holy week, on which people should have been praying or going to church. Bantayan has a fiesta on holy week, that’s why they are allowed to butcher and eat pig/pork on this holiest day. I think the town has a dispensation from the pope to observe the fiesta…fiesta is a holy day for filipinos, unlike the Spanish version that it means a party not necessarily for a saint or the town’s patron saint.
The bikini contest was a big news on the Phils newspapers. Everybody denied it esp the ones who will lose their jobs if proven. don’t worry, it will die down and will resurrect next year’s fiesta….another controversy….only in the Phils….
I’ve seen this fading away that you speak of on nearly everything. The press seems weak on follow up stories or investigative reporting. Too much investigation here often ends up with dead journalist though. The president has called on the police to put an end to it. Will that die down too?
What happened this year is that six priest from Northern Cebu signed a letter calling for the governor to intervene. She did so, she warned that she would prosecute.
The resort owner modified his plans to some degree after talking with City Officials. He claims they came to an compromise. But then they reported what they saw to the governor.
This is an issue that has been close to her heart. She walked out of a beauty pageant not long ago when she thought the girls were being exploited. She may not back off.
I was kind of surprised to find it was actually Filipino that were organizing the event. Filipino, as you know, take their religion much more serious than most of the western world does.
If you get a chance, read the churches in Cebu series I have on this site. I try to feature a church each month with pictures and history if I can find out about the history.
Bantayan Island is the only place in the world that is allowed to eat meat during Holy Week. The reason for it is not because of Fiesta. That’s probably more likely to be a part of why there is one.
The reason the pope gave this special exemption is the town was building one of the first churches in the Philippines, probably the first church. Every able bodied islander had been called on help with the construction as there was a rush to get it constructed. The people were going hungry as all the fishermen were working on the building so the pope granted an exception to the rule of fish only during holy week.
The exemption was never rescinded.
Mr. Ferguson’s view on the bikini contest inthe northern part of Cebu is very valid.With the coming global warming due to the irresoponsible use of mother nature, there is no greater filth than the dirt that the producers of the bikini show brought with them to Bantayan. The shows had nothing to do with freedom of expression but greed of the producers to earn money whatever the circumstances will be. It is equivalent to making crap in Mr. Ferguson’s front yard by a total stranger and leaving the cleaning up to Mr. F himself. And poor Bantayan gets the soiled reputation !
Hi Victor!
I gotta say, if I had a choice between a bikini contest in my front yard or what you described in my front yard, I’d have no problem picking a bikini contest.
I don’t see them as filthy but it was I think inappropriate during Holy Week, especially in the Philippines. And even more so once you’ve been warned by the governor. That was foolish.
My views on the subject are not what is important. It is my purpose to provide information to readers and let them decide for themselves. My political views are pretty much best described by letting people do what they want unless they are harming others. I wouldn’t dream of meddling in the Philippines internal affairs. Doesn’t matter if I agree or disagree.