The Mandaluyong City Police on Friday, Jan. 17, belied claims that the young female sampaguita vendor who went viral on social media after being ejected from a mall by a security guard is a member of a crime syndicate.
The police made the statement after several netizens speculated that the girl is part of a crime group that orders children to beg for money from strangers.
"I-caclarify po natin na yung bata ay totoong estudyante. In fact nga po, siya po ay scholar ng isang private institution. Matalinong bata (I would like to clarify that the girl is a real student. In fact, she is a scholar in a private institution. A really smart kid)," Mandaluyong City Police chief Col. Mary Grace Dayag said in an interview with reporters.
The girl vendor became viral on social media after she was seen being kicked-out by an EDSA mall security guard while selling her sampaguita garlands. The guard was also seen destroying her garlands and kicking her as she refused to leave the premises of the mall.
Dayag said the 18-year-old girl is a resident of Baesa in Quezon City and is selling sampaguita to help her parents with their financial needs following the demolition of their home.
Further investigation revealed that the now-viral video was taken on Dec. 17 last year, but just resurfaced recently.
This caused outrage from netizens and the public alike as they slammed the guard's actions, saying that the girl didn't deserve that kind of treatment.
The guard was eventually fired from his post by the mall management due to the incident.
On Thursday, Jan. 16, the Philippine National Police Supervisory Office On Security And Investigation Agency (PNP-SOSIA) said it will investigate the incident as well as the guard's actions to determine his violation.
PNP-SOSIA is the branch of the police that issues licenses to security guards and private security agencies in the country.
"“There is a violation of ethical standards, professional security creed and we would also determine whether there is a violation of special laws and if we can add these to the administrative complaint to the SOSIA," PNP Civil Security spokesperson Lt. Col. Eudisan Gultiano said.
"We would invite the security agency because we would want to know whether the rules and regulations on proper decorum and ethical standards are being relayed to their security guards," he added.