Dannyka Manangan

MUPH VP Voltaire Tayag defends CEO Jonas Gaffud on viral 'phone throwing' video: 'He did not intend or even try to hit anybody'

Article (news)

Nikka Avegail Sabio

Push Team

<p>Following the viral video of an alleged “cellphone throwing” incident during the 2026 Miss Universe Philippines coronation night, MUPH Executive Vice President Voltaire Tayag has come to the defense of pageant CEO Jonas Gaffud.</p><p> In an interview with INQUIRER’s Armin Adina, Voltaire clarified that Jonas had no intention of hitting anyone, contrary to what the circulating video suggests.</p><p> “I was quite surprised that this whole thing went viral because I was there seated next to him,” the MUPH VP expressed.</p><div><br/></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2052002433426244009&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2026-05-06T18%3A54%3A45.402661%3Abd640aec-4363-4ad3-99cd-e5556ffbd21d%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=80b983a8fc44fc38feeaac4dff3f65dc1febb1c8&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:897px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="2052002433426244009"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><div><strong></strong></div><div><br/></div><p><strong> </strong>“First of all, he did not throw the phone at anyone. He did not intend or even try to hit anybody with a phone. He was just so frustrated with the mic incident, and he was trying to get in touch with the production,” he cleared out.</p><p> According to Voltaire, the CEO&#x27;s reaction stemmed from technical issues that disrupted the coronation program.</p><p> “As we know naman na there’s no signal in MOA and halong frustration and the whole thing happening. He slammed the phone on the table, when he slammed the phone, everybody around heard the thud, including his assistant na katabi niya. Kaya yung jolt, yung nagulat siya. Hindi siya nakatingin and narinig niya yung ano kaya siya napa-jolt. That is exactly what happened,” he explained.</p><p> He also pointed out that the viral clip may have been taken out of context, adding: “I think they cut the video na after, but I think if there’s a video of that after, he checked his phone and nagtawanan pa sila after that. In fact, the day after, they went to Boracay. There is no such thing that people are insinuating, and I think it’s a bit unfair.” </p><p>In the video,  ex-Pinoy Big Brother housemate Ralph de Leon, who was one of the presenters, was seen onstage attempting to introduce outgoing Miss Universe Philippines Ahtisa Manalo for her final walk. He had to switch microphones three times due to a sound system malfunction.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2051452693840077209&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2026-05-06T18%3A54%3A45.402661%3Abd640aec-4363-4ad3-99cd-e5556ffbd21d%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=80b983a8fc44fc38feeaac4dff3f65dc1febb1c8&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:873px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="2051452693840077209"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><div><strong></strong></div><div><br/></div><p><strong> </strong>Jonas, who was seated behind the judges, appeared visibly frustrated from the incident and was seen drumming his fingers on the table before forcefully slamming his cellphone. A man seated nearby flinched, while a judge, former beauty queen Gazini Ganados, appeared startled by the scene.</p><p> The video later went viral, sparking criticism online. In a separate interview with One PH, Voltaire reiterated that Jonas’s actions were not meant to harm anyone.</p><p> “He was very frustrated when the mics were not working. He was trying to call the production. So n&#x27;ung hindi sumasagot, actually walang signal, in frustration tinapon niya &#x27;yung (cellphone),” he said. &quot;He did not make hampas to anyone… He didn&#x27;t throw the phone at anyone. It&#x27;s super not true.&quot;</p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fweb.facebook.com%2Freel%2F951811417721884%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560&amp;t=0" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><strong></strong></div><p> Reacting to the incident, Voltaire urged the public to be more responsible when sharing content online, especially when the context is unclear.</p><p> “When you are in public and in a public space, you actually can be recorded. We know that in the age of social media. They are free to do that, but I just wish people would be more careful when it comes to putting captions or insinuating things, especially when you do not know the facts,” Voltaire said in a video posted by INQUIRER. </p><div><strong></strong></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2052004528686616743&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2026-05-06T18%3A54%3A45.402661%3Abd640aec-4363-4ad3-99cd-e5556ffbd21d%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=80b983a8fc44fc38feeaac4dff3f65dc1febb1c8&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:1475px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="2052004528686616743"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><div><strong></strong></div><div><br/></div><p><strong> </strong>He then emphasized how one should not insinuate a false narrative towards other people.</p><p> “The moment you insinuate something and then people pick it up, then it’s miscommunicated. The more that it gets shared, the misinformation grows and then now people will believe what they are going to believe and people will create the whole narrative against that person or in favor of that person. I think it’s just unfair. I wish that people would just learn to be more respectful,” he continued.</p><p> “That is a moment where we worked so hard for all these months, preparing for it. It was almost over and for it to happen, like that very last minute, it can be frustrating.”</p><p> He also emphasized the seriousness of accusations being thrown online: “The thing that should not be done is putting words into other people’s mouths, insinuating things like assault. Assault is a very serious accusation that should not be something that you could be accused of.”</p><p> As of this writing, Miss Universe Philippines CEO Jonas Gaffud has yet to release an official statement regarding the viral video.</p>

<p>MUPH EVP Voltaire Tayag clarifies the incident involving CEO Jonas Gaffud throwing his cellphone.</p>

MUPH EVP Voltaire Tayag clarifies the incident involving CEO Jonas Gaffud throwing his cellphone.