JIMENEZ, Misamis Occidental — The local government of Jimenez has declared social media personality Christine Medalla — known online as Thine Medalla and Marry Bella — as persona non grata throughout the entire municipality after she was accused of desecrating a Catholic church’s Holy Water font.
Reports and circulating video footage on social media showed a female individual, identified as Medalla, willfully and maliciously spitting into the baptismal font inside St. John the Baptist Church. The act was deemed gravely offensive, sacrilegious, and a direct affront to the sanctity of the place of worship and to the faith of the municipality’s Catholic community.
According to the church and community leaders, the incident constituted not only an offense against the sacred space but also an insult to the deep religious devotion of the faithful. In response, the church was temporarily closed to conduct a traditional Catholic cleansing or purification ritual.
The persona non grata resolution was unanimously passed by the Sangguniang Bayan of Jimenez, underscoring the town’s firm stand against acts of vulgarity and disrespect towards religion. “The municipality will never condone such behavior that tramples on our faith and values,” the resolution stated.
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan also expressed its support for the measure, which was enacted despite recent apologies issued by Medalla and another influencer allegedly involved in the incident.
As of this writing, Medalla has yet to release a detailed public statement on the matter. Meanwhile, both the church and the local government have called on the public to respect sacred places and uphold tolerance among different faiths to preserve peace and unity in the community.