Dubai: Winners of a male Filipino beauty pageant in Dubai claim they have been left empty-handed after their prize money cheque bounced.
On June 10, 2011, Ralph Bann Ingreso, a 31-year-old sales executive, was crowned the UAE's first Ginoong Pilipinas Dubai, besting 14 other candidates at a glitzy pageant at the Asiana Hotel's Boracay Night club. Organisers had trumpeted the pageant as an event that would foster "selflessness, humanitarian spirit and Filipino glamour all rolled into one", promising the grand prize winner Dh10,000.
It was dubbed as the first-of-its-kind event in the UAE aimed to find the Dubai-based Filipino with the most "glamour, wit and talent", displaying "the true embodiment of a gentleman".
Ingreso said the organisers halved his cash prize. "We were promised the prize money in cash. But I just got sick and tired of their promises," said Ingreso, whose cheque bounced when he deposited it with a bank on June 29, his 32nd birthday.
Empty promises
Second-prize winner Rob Geronimo was promised Dh5,000. He said organisers reduced the prize money to Dh2,500. "It's one empty promise after another," said Geronimo.
The contest ran for two rounds, with the talent night held on June 3, and the finals on June 10.
Second runner-up Rowel Padlan, 24, a hotel staff in Sharjah, is equally miffed.
"The organisers made us sell entrance tickets to the pageant. I sold Dh3,000 worth of tickets to my friends and acquaintances. Initially, the prize money they promised to the second runner-up was Dh5,000, which was whittled down to Dh3,000 and finally to Dh1,000. Even that amount [cheque] bounced."
Two months after the event, the winners said there is still no clarity as to when they will receive their prize money.
"They have reduced us to begging," said Padlan.
One of the show producers, who requested anonymity confirmed the incident. "This is only a small problem. I already explained to them [winners] to give the organisers a chance.
"I invested my personal money in this show and want my money back. They [organisers] should fix the problem and return my money," he said.
The producer said that they were expecting 600 to 1,000 attendees, but only managed to sell about 200 tickets as they were forced to start the show at 6pm, four hours earlier than the originally agreed time.
"We're not running away from our obligation," said the organiser. "The cheques were given only for security purposes. We suffered due to unforeseen events. There's just a delay in the payment of the prize. The winners got all the goodies from the sponsors. We will pay them in full, but we're just sorting out our cash flow problem. No one lost in this contest."
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