MANILA — Amado Cruz, the Miss Earth sponsor accused of sexual harrassment by three candidates, claimed on Friday that he was at a loss as to the allegations that have cast on the Philippines-organized pageant its biggest controversy in its 17-year history.

Cruz, whose support through sponsorship of various pageants dates back to 2000, denied the accusations of Jaime Vandenberg of Canada, Abbey-Anne Gyles-Brown of England, and Emma Mae Sheedy of Guam.

In a phone interview with ABS-CBN News’ Mario Dumaual, Cruz insisted his involvement in Miss Earth was so he could help promote the country’s tourism, through destination events, as well as a dinner party at the Manila Yacht Club which he confirmed to have hosted.

Cruz, who was in Boracay at the time of the interview, claimed he could not understand why his sponsorship of such events would be given malicious meaning.

He denied asking for any candidate’s phone number. This was in response to Vandenberg’s allegation that her number was given to an unnamed sponsor without her consent, and that the individual called her numerous times to ask for her hotel and room number.

Cruz also denied asking for sexual favors from any candidate, as alleged by Vandenberg and Gyles-Brown.

The latter, in her Instagram post, had said: “I enjoyed 50% of my trip but the other 50% was over shadowed by feeling exploited, vulnerable, unnerved & sexually harassed as I was approached by a sponsor on many occasions who asked for sexual favours in exchange for the crown… I felt traumatised by this experience and had many sleepless nights.”

Sheedy, who identified Cruz as the harasser in her own social media post, said the businessman “grabbed my bare backside” during the national costume competition.

Cruz also denied this, claiming he could not have possibly done so at such a public event.

Addressing Vandenberg’s allegation that the pageant sponsor also offered to bring candidates to Boracay, Cruz claimed that the candidates, and not him, were the ones who expressed interest to visit the recently reopened island.

He said it was out of goodwill that he subsequently offered to help arrange the candidates’ post-pageant vacation plans in Boracay, since he hails from nearby Capiz.

Another candidate, Monica Aguilar of Cuba, also previously mentioned Boracay in her own account of what transpired at the Manila Yacht Club — but to counter Vandenberg’s allegation.

“Yes, some sponsors did ask us if we wanted to extend our visas to go to Boracay after the pageant, but no one was promised to get us further in the competition through ‘sexual favors’… All you can do is say no, thank you, and move on with your life,” she said.

In his interview with ABS-CBN News, Cruz thanked the candidates who asserted there was no sexual harassment during the competition.

Cruz’s airing of his side came amid the viral spread of photos showing him posing with Miss Earth candidates, among them Vandenberg and and Gyles-Brown. As of writing, the tweet already had 2,000 retweets and over nearly 4,000 likes.

Amado S. Cruz, the guys who allegedly harassed Miss Earth candidates. Along with these photos is the official instagram post of Miss Earth Guam. #MissEarth2018



ctto pic.twitter.com/rk4gqKdzm2 — Prince Puaso (@ohyeahprince) November 8, 2018

Cruz said he is now consulting a lawyer as to his possible legal steps in light of the accusations.

The Miss Earth organization, meanwhile, has said Cruz is “forever banned” from the annual pageant, and stressed that it “does not condone nor tolerate any rude or immoral behavior towards the delegates by sponsors or anybody for that matter.”

Lorraine Schuck, executive president of organizer Carousel Productions, also called on the complainants, as well as any other candidate who may have had a similar experience, to submit a written statement in order to facilitate formal proceedings.