MANILA — A Filipina traveler who skipped mandatory quarantine protocols last December has pleaded guilty to violating a law requiring mandatory reporting of notifiable diseases and will be fined P20,000.

Watch more News on iWantTFC

Gwyneth Anne Chua appeared before Judge Maureen Rubio-Marquez of Makati City Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 128 Monday morning, accused of violating Republic Act 11332 or the "Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act".

When asked for her plea, she pleaded “guilty,” according to Assistant City Prosecutor Rafael Rodrigo Esguerra.

“In fact, she apologized for the hassle she caused,” he said.

Chua refused to give any comment to the media, who were only allowed to stay outside the courtroom. Her lawyers also declined to comment.

Watch more News on iWantTFC

However, the case against security guard Esteban Gatbonton will continue as he earlier pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Gatbonton is a security guard at Berjaya Hotel who allegedly facilitated Chua’s escape from the quarantine facility.

“That kind of accusation necessarily assumes that he has the obligation to detain. I don’t see where the obligation is and I don’t think that he has the power to detain or even to restrain,” his lawyer, Jose Bernas, said.

Bernas added, Chua’s guilty plea will not affect his client’s case, saying it’s separate.

“It’s irrelevant. Someone might plead guilty simply for expediency…A guilty plea does not necessarily mean an admission of guilt. It’s just an acceptance of the penalty,” he said.

Chua was with her parents and counsel during Monday’s arraignment.

Her parents, Allan and Gemma, and boyfriend Rico Atienza were initially included in the complaint.

According to the Justice department’s press release in May, Chua’s father fetched her from the hotel on December 22, 2021 while her mother accompanied her when she returned on December 25. Her boyfriend, meanwhile, was with her in a bar in Poblacion, Makati on December 23.

• TIMELINE: 'Poblacion girl' skirts quarantine policies infecting several others with COVID-19
• 'Poblacion girl' indicted for defying quarantine
• DOT suspends, fines Berjaya Hotel in Makati after quarantine breach

But investigating prosecutors found insufficient evidence to charge them, along with other hotel staff.

Chua was seen partying in Poblacion, Makati on Dec. 23, 2021, just 2 days into her mandatory quarantine at the Berjaya Hotel after arriving from the US.

She later tested positive for COVID-19. Fifteen of her contacts were also confirmed infected. Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said that Chua admitted the violation.

Watch more News on iWantTFC

The incident, which happened amid the threat of the then-new omicron variant, went viral. Chua earned the moniker "Poblacion girl."