TV and movie personality McNeal Briguela, also known as Awra Briguela, remains detained at the Makati City Police headquarters after being apprehended by the Makati City Police following an altercation outside the Bolthole Bar in Poblacion, Makati City, in the early morning of June 29.
Awra is facing charges of physical injuries, alarm and scandal, disobedience to authority, and direct assault.
Video footage which quickly spread on social media captured Awra struggling and shouting while being handcuffed by the responding police officers, who intervened to stop the brawl between the two parties involved.
Mark Christian Ravana filed the complaint against Awra, alleging that the actor had attempted to force him to undress, which led to the commotion.
In an interview with Frontline Pilipinas, Ravana stated, “Nakursunadahan niya siguro ako tapos hindi niya ako pinalabas ng bar.
“Unang-una talaga, hindi ako pumapatol. Naka-hands up pa nga ako. Sinundan talaga ako sa baba.
“Then nagulat ako, may sumuntok na sa akin. Madami na ang sumuntok sa akin, lumaban lang ako.”
The CCTV footage inside the bar obtained by social media personality Christian Gaza corroborated Ravana’s statement regarding the incident.
Meanwhile, Awra’s companion, Zayla Nakajima, vehemently denied Ravana’s accusations. She claimed that Ravana had groped her, and Awra only defended her.
In a social media post, Zayla detailed the alleged harassment she experienced.
Part of her statement reads: “…there’s this one guy who creepily harassed me with two attempts. First attempt, he touched my bum and squeezed it—I was wearing a bra-top at the time. Second and worse attempt, he tried to insert his bare hands inside my bra. He is full-creep and been roaming around the club, and every time he gets near me, I avoid him, and that’s where I draw the line. I decided to go home and leave.”
According to Zayla, after she and another female friend experienced harassment, Awra calmly confronted the man to defend them. However, the argument escalated into a physical altercation.
Zayla claimed that the man was the first to throw a punch at Awra, and her celebrity friend retaliated. She also criticized the spread of the video showing Awra being handcuffed by the police, as it had a negative impact on public perception.
She also condemned other social media influencers for using the incident involving Awra as content in an inappropriate manner.
As of this writing, Awra has yet to issue an official statement about the matter.
Meanwhile, according to the latest update from ABS-CBN News, Briguela was already released from detention after posting 6,000 bail on Saturday, July 1 at around 9:20 p.m.
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