Miss Earth organizer speaks up about alleged sexual harassment incidents

Pageant organizer and president of Carousell Productions Lorraine Schuck confirmed that they immediately banned the alleged harasser that contestants were complaining about from events after the Manila Yacht Club incident on October 14.

"Lahat naman 'yon na-address n'ong October 14 pa. I found out about it tapos siyempre kung sino man 'yong nag-sexual harass na sinasabi nila, bin-nan naman namin," Lorraine told GMA News Online in a phone interview on Thursday morning.

News of alleged sexual harassment during the recently concluded Miss Earth pageant spread on Wednesday evening after Miss Canada Jaime VandenBerg claimed

Among the incidents she narrated was the October 14 sponsored dinner at the Manila Yacht Club, which two other contestants, Miss England Abbey-Anne Gyles-Brown and Miss Guam Emma Sheedy, also pinpointed in their respective Instagram posts on Thursday morning, Manila time.

The October 14 Yacht Club Incident

According to Miss Canada, it was during the dinner at the Yacht Club when the troublesome sponsor made them uncomfortable. "He took the delegates in my group to his yacht and had some girls take sultry photos," Miss Canada wrote in her Instagram post.

Miss England meanwhile said the Yacht club dinner was "a sponsored evening meal away from team managers behind closed doors. The sponsor tried to find out which hotel and room I was staying in."

Miss Guam said that the sponsor tried to keep security away from the girls during the same dinner. 

According to Lorraine, she immediately spoke with Miss England on the phone, upon learning about the Oct 14 incident.  

"Kinausap ko si [Miss] England, na you know 'I'm gonna ban him in our events.' Sabi ko, 'don't worry and don't be scared' kasi hindi naman siya judge. Kaya daw nila hindi sinasabi kasi takot sila tapos kasi daw baka points against them sabi ko hindi at all," she said.

But because the coronation night was a public event, they couldn't do anything about it.

"Pagdating sa coronation night, because it's a public event hindi naman namin kontrolado, kahit pulis namin walang magawa d'on," she said.

Lorraine said, despite having no control of the attendees, she made sure that the girls had their own police escorts so no one could come near them. 

"Nanuod n'ong coronation night pero you know 'yong mga pulis pinagbabawal, sa mga babae na walang makalapit, so he watched the event." 

Get it documented

Lorraine said she also asked the girls to write a report about their experiences so should they decide to sue the sponsor, she could also support them.

"In fact, itong report na 'to, kaya ako nagpagawa ng report sa lahat sa kanila kasi kung totoo, ma-collaborate nilang lahat 'to, they can sue the guy and I will suport them," she said.

Lorraine said most of the candidates did not complain about any sexual harassment incidents except for the group who were at the Yacht Club last October 14.

"Kasi pinasulat ko lahat ng girls ng written report ng buong event, kung may harassment na nangyari and ang karamihan n'on, eh talagang wala. May konting nagsasabi na may tumatawag sa kanila pero bino-block nila, tapos 'etong group na 'to, 'eto lang naman 'yong may nangyari sa Yacht Club."

On Miss  Guam's allegations of touching

In her Instagram post, Miss Guam Emma Sheedy said the sponsor grabbed her bare backside during the National Costume Competition.  

But Lorraine said she did not know how Miss Guam could've been touched when they had police officers with them all the time.

"'Di ko alam saan nanggaling 'yong kay Guam na hinawakan siya sa puwet, at hindi niya nire-report 'yan. Nagtanong na ako sa kanilang lahat at hindi nila ni-rereport, so hindi ko alam saan biglang sumulpot, so bakit kung may humawak sa kanya, alam nilang may police officer sila sa tabi nila."

Lorraine noted that the girls had been briefed since day one to report such incidents, should they unfortunately happen.

"Alam nilang dapat lapitan nila ang team manager. Bakit hindi nila ginawa? Bakit ngayon lang nila sasabihin 'to?" she asked perplexed.

Lorraine said she couldn't help but wonder if all of this was all planned, since she already addressed the problems on the day it happened.

"Because the problem was addressed. Kunwari may nangyari pa after, bakit hindi nila nire-report sa team manager at sa pulis?"

On how the sponsor obtained the beauty queens' numbers

When asked about how the sponsor got their number, Lorraine said she did not know how it happened. The only contact number organizers have of the candidates is their international contact numbers.

"Ang mga number nila, bumibili sila ng sim card. Alam mo ba, kami sa opisina, ni wala kaming isang number nila na local? Ang meron kami nila 'yung contact nila abroad, pero wala kaming number nila dito. So 'yon din ang tinatanong ko paano nakuha ang number nila n'ong mga taong to," Lorraine said.

Lorraine said the team managers contact the candidates through a group chat in Messenger.

"Eh kahit 'yong team managers tinanong ko, eh hindi ho namin alam kasi ang communication namin with them through messenger, nakagroup chat kaming lahat."

Who is 'Amado'?

It was Miss Earth Guam Emma Sheedy who named the alleged troublesome sponsor.

But Lorraine clarified that the Amado mentioned wasn't actually an official sponsor of the pageant. He only hosted food for the girls, Lorraine said, as he owned several restaurants near Manila Yacht Club and Intramuros where they took the girls for a tour.

"Hindi naman sponsorship yun nag-host sa pagkain. Hindi siya totoong sponsor," she said.

"'Yong Yacht Club, malapit lahat sa hotels nila. [Because of the] traffic, mas madaling kumain at mag-dinner ang mga babae in that area. Hindi sponsor ang Yacht Club. Individual member ng Yacht Club ang nag-sponsor so tinatawag na rin nating sponsor kasi nag-host [siya] ng food ng girls," Lorraine explained.

Miss Earth Canada, England and Guam shared their sexual harassment experiences in the Philippines during the Miss Earth pageant. Meanwhile Miss Earth Cuba countered the sexual harassment claims of her fellow candidates. — LA, GMA News