After YouTuber Mika Salamanca arrest, authorities also urged to hold accountable her influencer friends

By
Catalina Ricci S. Madarang
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July 27, 2020 - 12:33 PM
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This image shows 20-year-old YouTuber, Mika Salamanca. Screnenshot/

Days after YouTuber and singer Mika Salamanca was arrested for breaching quarantine rules, some residents of Hawaii are urging law enforcers to also hold accountable her local friends who allegedly took her out while she was supposed to be in quarantine.

Hawaii-based reporter Annalisa Burgos said that some of them include influencers Fynest China (@Fynestchina) and Khrysster (@ikhrysste).

Hawaii-based news outlet KITV4 last July 24 (July 25, Manila time) reported that Salamanca breached quarantine rules when she went outside with her friends after only four days of her arrival in Honolulu, Hawaii.

All travelers arriving in Honolulu city are required to undergo a 14-day self-quarantine in their place of residence or accommodation as part of the place’s preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19.

So far, the state only has 1,683 cases and 26 deaths.

Salamanca’s arrest came a day after she released a video claiming that the local authorities of Hawaii told her she is “not in trouble.”

In the almost three-minute-long video shared on her social media accounts, Salamanca apologized to her fans about going outside before the mandated 14-day self-isolation ended.

“Gusto ko pong mag-sorry sa lahat ng misunderstanding and sa lahat ng maling nakikita niyo po sa Internet. Inaamin ko po na nagkamali po ako nung time na dumating po ako dito sa Hawaii, agad po kaming lumabas,” she said.

The social media personality said she is aware of the quarantine protocols and repeatedly claimed that Hawaiian police were the ones who assured her that she is “not in trouble” and she is already allowed to leave her home after she tested negative for the virus.

“As far as I can remember na-settle na namin yun. May mga nagreport and nag complain about dun. So yung mga law enforcer pinuntahan nila ko sa bahay kung san ako nag ka-quarantine. Sila po mismo yung nagsabi sakin na ‘you’re not in trouble. If you’re negative, you can go out’ which is sa lahat po ng test na kinuha ko po, negative po ako,” Salamanca said.

However, such a statement was immediately countered by a Hawaiian official Attorney General Clare E. Connors and criticized it as false information in an interview with KITV4.

“None of my investigators would convey that information, as it is incorrect. The fact that Ms. Salamanca has so many followers makes her actions that much more dangerous and concerning.  The spread of misinformation can have very severe consequences during an emergency situation like we are in now,” Connors said.

Dan Dennison, Lead Public Information Officer also denied that local authorities of Hawaii allowed Salamanca to go out of quarantine after testing negative for COVID-19.

It started when a resident named Abby Medrano and her friends saw videos and photos of her eating out and dancing in a mall just days after she arrived in Hawaii.

Based on another KITV4 report, authorities did go to Salamanca’s house around July 9 or 10. A spokesman from the Honolulu police department stated that as the general practice, they issue warnings first to suspected quarantine violators.

On July 21, Medrano took to Twitter to share copies of Salamanca’s posts as proofs, which immediately circulated on the platform and prompted the latter to address the issue.

Last Friday, Special Agents from the Attorney General’s office took her into custody over quarantine violations.

Her relatives reportedly posted a hefty bail of $2,000 (P98,800) on Salamanca’s behalf.

In her video, Salamanca also claimed that the authorities asked her to give out their number to the people who wants to verify the details of her case.
Burgos personally called the hotline and learned that the guidelines goes to the state hotline for visitors under quarantine managed by the Hawaii Tawaii Tourism Authority and not the police or law enforcement.

“The employee who answered said they would not tell people to give out the number for this purpose and they are not allowed to give out personal information about quarantine cases. He asks people not to call the number because it is a burden on the state’s limited resources,” Burgos said.

“So while Mika may have had good intentions, giving out that number doesn’t help her case and actually takes time away from the workers who have to monitor hundreds of visitors and returning residents in quarantine in Hawaii,” she added.

Filipinos online then criticized Salamanca for apparently lying to the authorities and to the fans about her quarantine violations.

Meanwhile, prior to the social media personality’s arrest, online users and residents have also been calling out Salamanca’s friends who are purportedly enabling her to go out even when she was supposed to be in quarantine.
Some online users personally messaged TikTok star, Fynest China, who was spotted being out with Salamanca.
Fynest China, in his supposed response, however, claimed that Salamanca was already done with her mandatory quarantine.

As of writing, Fynest China and Khrysster have yet to respond on calls to also hold them accountable for Salamanca’s breach of quarantine protocols.

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