Maila Gumila is fuming over the disappearance of a pet cat that used to reside in the condominium unit of Parokya ni Edgar bassist Buwi Meneses in Quezon City.
On Facebook last Saturday, Gumila shared a screenshot of her message to Meneses inquiring about the whereabouts of Maxine, a stray cat that was adopted by a certain Nilo who used to lease Meneses’ condo unit.
Based on Gumila’s narration, Nilo had been taking care of Maxine, but when he left for the United States, Maxine was left all alone while still taking up quarters in the Meneses’ unit, until they decided to take over the pad. Gumila, however, claimed that she is worried that something might have become of the pet cat as the Meneseses have been clamming up as to its whereabouts.
“Mr. Buwi Meneses, please have a heart. Return to Aspire Tower, Maxine. The cat you took away and didn’t inform us about,” she said, referring to the Quezon City-based condo unit. “She is loved and we are very worried [about] what you have done to her.”
During Meneses’ absence, Gumila stressed that she made sure to keep the bassist’s unit “tidy” out of courtesy and hoped the latter is not a “bad person.” She did not disclose how she discovered the cat’s absence from the condominium unit, but in a screenshot that she posted in the comments, the wife of Meneses, Febe, said that the cat had been “taken care of.”
“She is an innocent animal. Return her to us or let us know where we can get her,” she said. “Appealing for decency here, you could have informed us to take her out as [a] courtesy to us who looked after your unit. Please please return Maxine to us as soon as possible. We are very worried about her.”
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But in the comments of Gumila’s post, Meneses’ wife Febe stressed their family had been requesting the actress to “take the cat out of their unit” for three years while asserting that she “always asked for an extension” because her place couldn’t accommodate the animal due to the “thousand other cats” inside.
“That unit is for sale and we couldn’t have it cleaned up… You just used our unit to house the cat. In the first place, that cat is not yours,” she said. “Honestly, that’s not our problem but because my husband has a good heart, he let (a certain) Mrs. Choi take care of the cat at the expense of our unit. Us, the unit owners can’t live on our own property.”
Febe also asserted that she, her husband, and their family “couldn’t live in [their] own property” while pointing out that the cat was the reason why it couldn’t attract potential tenants.
“We need our unit back. It is not a storage or laundry facility for you to use. We are the owners and we have every right to do whatever we want with our unit. Now, if you could please hand back our keys, otherwise we are reporting that you are trespassing [on] our property. And will have to evaluate the damages you have to pay… We appreciate you and Mrs. Choi looking after our unit but we can’t have that cat anymore… We solved it,” she wrote.
However, in a follow-up post, Gumila remained firm in her side of the story, saying she and her circle did their best to reach out to Meneses regarding the whereabouts of the cat, but he appeared to have a “standard answer to shut everyone up.”
“Everyone who has reached out to Buwi Meneses of Parokya ni Edgar regarding the whereabouts of Maxine, he had a standard answer to shut everyone up: ‘She is well and is being taken care of’ (but refuses to send a proof of life video) expecting everyone inquiring to take his word,” she said.
“When asked Maxine’s location, the wife answers ‘We don’t know where she is. We still have to find her!’ How is it that you know that Maxine is fine but do not know where she is exactly,” she further added.
The bassist himself has yet to issue a statement about Gumila’s appeal on social media.
INQUIRER.net has reached out to Gumila and Meneses for comment on the matter but both have yet to respond, as of this writing.