Cebu personality Jude Bacalso is now facing several charges following an incident where she allegedly made a waiter stand for nearly two hours after he mistakenly called her “sir.”
The charges, including Unjust Vexation, Grave Scandal, Grave Coercion, Grave Threats, and Slight Illegal Detention, were filed on Wednesday, August 28, at the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office. The incident occurred at a restaurant in a Cebu City mall on July 21 and gained widespread attention after it was shared online by netizen John Calderon.
According to Calderon’s post, Bacalso, who is a member of the LGBTQIA community, was offended by the waiter’s mistake and demanded that he stand in front of her as she reprimanded him. The waiter reportedly stood for about 1 hour and 49 minutes, visibly distressed, while bystanders witnessed the situation.
Bacalso responded to the public backlash through a social media post, acknowledging the waiter’s prolonged standing but denying it was at her insistence. She explained that she was waiting to address the situation with the restaurant’s owners, who she claimed to have a close relationship with. Bacalso emphasized that the misgendering was particularly upsetting due to the presence of a transwoman owner.
Following the incident, Bacalso issued an apology, stating, “I also realized that in the impassioned pursuit of my advocacy, I could have done with a little measure of kindness, sadly quite absent in the ruckus this has all unnecessarily created when it was made public without our knowledge.”
Despite her apology and attempts to resolve the matter with the restaurant’s management, the waiter has decided to press charges against Bacalso nearly a month after the incident. He will be represented by Lawyer Ron Ivan Gingoyon.
