The purge has begun. Elon Musk’s Twitter on Thursday started removing the blue verification check marks from users who have not signed up for its subscription service. Among those affected were several celebrities including Lea Salonga, who was quick to issue a reaction. She tweeted, “Awwww, my blue checkmark is gone. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted!” When Girlie Rodis asked her, “Oh cause now one has to pay to get the blue check mark?” Lea replied, “Yup.” She added, “The discounted rate is $114/year, I think. I can live without the checkmark, but I do agree that if you did get it previously, you should be able to keep it or some form of it to prevent impersonation.” Karen Davila, meanwhile, asked Twitter: “I just lost my blue verification badge. What now Twitter? Are we supposed to pay for it?” A fan answered on the platform’s behalf, saying, “You have to subscribe to Twitter Blue, there's no other way. But the good news is, you can be able to monetize your account thru subscription...” Alex Gonzaga decided to simply roll with it, allowing for a bit of a witty “hugot” in her post. She wrote, “Kahit mawala man ang blue check ang importante alam mo na meron parin mga red flags na dapat mong iwasan. Ay San galeng?” Gretchen Ho is seemingly mad, though.  "The blue (check mark)has lost its meaning. The point of that anyway was to verify identity & it actually helped earmark notable people in diff industries. Now it just means Twitter got paid. Lemme guess how it goes? Elon experimenting only to find out it was working in the first place.” Darren Espanto is on the fence about it. He asked fans, “I lost my verification badge due to the new rules Elon Musk made. Should I pay for Twitter Blue or nah?” One answered, "Haha you don’t even use it that much what’s the point of paying for something you don’t need. Dun na lang tayo sa IG hehe...” Janice de Belen seems worried that fans might think she is a poseur. She wrote, “Oh my! I’m not verified na here on Twitter hehehe!!! Basta guys THIS IS ME!” Chito Miranda feels the same way. He said, “Nawala yung blue check ko. Di tuloy ako sure kung ako ba 'to talaga.” Prior, Musk already made clear the impetus behind the changes to Twitter’s verification system, noting it is a way of “treating everyone equally.” “There shouldn’t be a different standard for celebrities,” he said in a tweet.