Manila: Local government officials called for an investigation on Wednesday after a beauty contestant from New Zealand pulled out of a pageant.
Nicole Harding quit after complaining organisers had brought contestants to “dangerous” southern Philippines, where they were asked to stay in cheap hotels with armed men and sniffer dogs, sources said.
“The local government of Misamis Oriental scheduled the investigation of the organisers of Mister and Miss Pan Continental International Beauty Pageant because Nicole Harding, a beauty queen from New Zealand claimed she was advised to leave Cagayan de Oro for security reasons,” Governor Yevgeny Vincente Emano said.
The local government of Misamis Oriental sponsored a dinner for the contestants who arrived in Cagayan de Oro last Sunday, Emano said, adding he did not know that Harding was then disappointed by the event’s organisers.
Recounting her story to Stuff.co.nz, Harding also said, “We met with the Cagayan governor and he said, ‘It was not safe [for us] to be here, [that] this place is more unsafe than Afghanistan.’ He told us where we were, ‘They kidnap people and use them as sex slaves, it’s number one place for human trafficking, and we needed to get these girls [contestants] out of here.’”
Noting the organisers also did not fulfil their promise to give contestants daily allowances and five-star hotel accommodation, Harding, 22, a nursing student from Christchurch said, “They took us to this hotel, which, in New Zealand, I would liken to a prison cell. There were guys out the front with machine guns and dogs.”
Three contestants were in a room with one double bed and a slim mattress, and the room was “crawling with bugs,” Harding said.
Later, contestants were transferred to a new hotel that did not expect their arrival; two organisers and a photographer were held hostage in the previous hotel due to unpaid bills, Harding said.
“What they tried to do was run a pageant on a budget and make a profit. I was told this was a non-profit and the proceeds would go to charity,” said Harding, alleging that three more contestants, including Ashley Clark of the United States, wanted to pull out of the contest. Organisers did not confirm this.
Harding claimed her mother called up the New Zealand Embassy in Manila, but a Philippine government official had advised Harding to leave Cagayan de Oro, conflicting reports said.
A case of breach of contract was filed at the police against Lourdes Stanley — who had been assigned to take care of the contestants in Cagayan de Oro, but did not show up, organiser Mylene Miranda said.
Events for swimwear, fashion show, talent competition and national costume were scheduled at the Apple Tree Resort and Hotel from November 23 to 26, and final competition in Manila on November 27, organisers added.
