KEY POINTS:
Foreign Affairs officials say they have not yet been asked to help a New Zealander accused of attempted murder in the Philippines.
Jody Hunt, and a Tongan passport-holder who grew up in Auckland, Hola Iketau, are facing charges of attempted murder and assault, causing serious physical injuries, in
Cebu City last weekend.
They are reported to have said they would rather face the criminal charges than pay a requested four million pesos in damages, equivalent to $160,000.
Lawyer Inocencio Dela Cerna, representing two men who were beaten on Sunday night, Hilario Escudero and Don Marck Delleva, filed the criminal charges with a local prosecutor, Raul Cristobal.
Local news reports from the ABS-CBN news network said Mr Escudero, an aircraft officer, suffered bruises all over his body, a broken tooth, and a fractured neck, while Mr Delleva, a liaison officer with a medical supplies company, was today undergoing surgery on his broken jaw.
Mr Escudero said in an affidavit the pair were in a car with a woman on Sunday night when they were stopped by Mr Hunt.
He was one of a group of 20 expatriates drinking beer in the street outside Eddie's Hotel, in downtown Cebu City, and swearing at passing cars.
When Mr Escudero blew the car horn Mr Hunt banged the hood of his car with his fist and the rest of the foreigners circled the car, the affidavit said.
Hunt was allegedly about to smash a bottle of beer on Escudero when another foreigner stopped him.
He called another group of foreigners, including Mr Iketau, who allegedly punched Mr Delleva, and kicked Mr Escudero, who said Mr Hunt also rammed him.
When security guards intervened, the foreigners went to a nearby bar, while the victims complained to police and sought medical treatment.
Mr Iketau and Mr Hunt later told police they had been mauled by two Filipinos and sustained bruises, but they asked for forgiveness and said they were willing to pay damages. But when the victims produced medical receipts for 500,000 pesos ($20,000), the foreigners said all they could offer was a tenth of that.
The lawyer for Mr Hunt and Mr Iketau, Noel Archival, claimed the incident was a mere traffic problem, and that his clients did not start the fighting. He said the Filipino complainants had asked them to each pay two million pesos ($80,000) damages, but they could not afford it.
Mr Archival said the New Zealander and the Tongan were "mere tourists" who had been in the Philippines for months, and were willing to face the charges rather than pay damages.
The two men featured in last year's "Movember" campaign and are pictured on its website as part of the Team Mo Cebu which raised $375 for the charity .
- NZPA
