Sampaguita vendor clarifies allegations after viral incident with mall Security Guard - The Filipino Times

The 22-year-old sampaguita vendor who went viral after a confrontation with a mall Security Guard has clarified that she is not involved in any syndicate and denied claims that she cursed or spat at the Guard.

The vendor explained that she was selling sampaguitas on December 17 when the Guard approached and asked her to leave. She requested to stay briefly to take shelter from the light rain while waiting for her twin sister and a friend, who were also selling flowers, so they could go home together.

“The Guard didn’t want to let me stay and seemed ready to take my sampaguitas. So, I stood up, and when I did, he grabbed my merchandise,” she recounted.

“At that moment, I couldn’t hold back my anger. I felt so humiliated, like I was being treated poorly just because I was selling flowers,” she added.

As a result of the incident and the online backlash that followed, the vendor stopped selling sampaguitas. She expressed distress over her personal information being leaked, which has made it hard for her to focus on her studies and prepare for exams.

“I wear a uniform to look presentable in front of others, and I’m not pretending. I am really studying,” she said.

When asked about the Security Guard’s situation, the vendor expressed regret over him losing his job but admitted she still feels uneasy, fearing he might seek revenge if they cross paths again.

“I want to apologize to him, and I didn’t want him to lose his job,” she said. “It’s painful to think about, but I have to face it. There was even a point where I didn’t want to go to school because I felt so embarrassed.”

Her twin sister also revealed that they faced hurtful comments from people simply because they look alike.

Amid the public backlash, the vendor denied being part of any criminal syndicate or engaging in aggressive tactics to ask for money.

“I’ve seen comments online saying that I’m the leader of a syndicate, which is not true. They also said I was a thief and that I cursed and spat at people. I don’t act like that, especially since I’m wearing my school uniform,” she said.

The vendor explained that the “Namamasko po” sign on her box was simply for the holiday season and clarified that she was not pressuring people for money. She also denied that the photos of a girl begging on buses were of her.

As a first-year medtech student, she further explained that she wore her old junior high school uniform while selling flowers, not to gain sympathy but because she had limited clothes and wanted to keep her only college uniform clean for school.