Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Sampaguita

Michael Delizo

ABS-CBN News

<div><br/></div><p>MANILA — The Mandaluyong City Police on Friday said it has located the so-called “Sampaguita girl,” who went viral on social media after being forcibly driven away by a security guard at a mall.</p><p>Mandaluyong City Police chief Col. Mary Grace Madayag said they spoke to the vendor and confirmed that she is a student and not part of any criminal syndicate.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/1/16/mall-guard-who-destroyed-sampaguita-vendor-s-wares-axed-0922">Mall guard who destroyed sampaguita vendor&#x27;s wares axed</a></div><p>The girl, 18, is a scholar at a private educational institution, taking up medical technology course. She sells sampaguita flowers to support her family, especially after their house in Quezon City was recently demolished, Madayag added.</p><p>“Ika-clarify po natin na ‘yong bata po ay totoo pong estudyante. In fact nga po, siya po ay isang scholar ng isang private institution at matalinong bata. Nagsusumikap lamang po na madagdagan ‘yong mga pangangailangan nila sa kanilang eskwela dahil po kade-demolish lang daw o ng bahay nila. ‘Yan po ay pinatunayan din ng barangay,” Madayag told reporters in a chance interview.</p><p>“Hindi na po siya minor. Siya po ay 18 years old na babae at lehitimo po na siya ay estudyante sa isang private school,” she said. </p><p>Lawyers from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) have met with the student for legal consultation.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/1/16/sekyu-na-nagtaboy-sa-sampaguita-vendor-sinibak-2034">Sekyu na nagtaboy sa sampaguita vendor, sinibak</a></div><p>No final decision has been made yet on whether the student will file charges against the mall guard. </p><p>Madayag said the vendor did not know someone had taken the video and requested that it be removed on social media.</p><p>“Depende po sa pamilya kung talagang magpu-push po sila ng kaso against the vlogger at saka doon sa security guard. Kagabi po, wala pa po silang desisyon kaya kami ay nag-aantay ng kanilang desisyon kasi po ‘yong klase po ng bata is from Monday to Saturday. Ayaw po niyang maistorbo yung kanyang klase kasi inaalagaan niya ‘yong grades niya,” Madayag said.</p><p>A video of the incident, which happened on December 17, 2024, showed a girl wearing a school uniform sitting on the steps outside the mall when a guard approached and told her to move elsewhere.</p><p>The guard then grabbed and ripped up the girl’s sampaguita garlands, causing the girl to throw the ruined products at the guard’s face.</p><p>The guard then kicked the girl, even as the latter continued to hit him after he dropped his walkie-talkie and handkerchief.</p><p>Netizens criticized the guard for kicking the girl and destroying her garlands, saying the act could be considered child abuse.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/celebrities/2025/1/16/john-arcilla-reacts-to-viral-video-of-security-guard-destroying-girl-s-sampaguita-garlands-1701">John Arcilla reacts to viral video of security guard destroying girl’s sampaguita garlands</a></div><p>The security guard has been dismissed, according to the the mall where he was working.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>PNP SUMMONS GUARD, AGENCY</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Friday summoned the security guard and his agency.</p><p>Lt. Col. Eudisan Gultiano, spokesperson for the PNP Civil Security Group (CSG), said the security guard and his agency were given until next week to appear before the Supervisory Office for Security and Investigation Agencies (SOCIA) at Camp Crame in Quezon City.</p><p>The summons were sent on Friday, and the agency was instructed to ensure that its personnel appear at SOCIA.</p><p>Gultiano added that the police have already conducted an administrative inspection of the establishment and checked with the local police station to see if any administrative cases or incident reports had been filed, but there were none.</p><p>“By next week po, hinihintay po natin ‘yong update, but definitely, kung hindi po mag-appear itong security guard at ang ating security agency, maaari na po kaming mag-initiate ng filing na po ng administrative complaint,” Gultiano told reporters in a brief interview.</p><p>(By next week, we are waiting for the update, but definitely, if the security guard and the security agency do not appear, we may initiate the filing of an administrative complaint.)</p><p>“Bakit ho namin ginagawa ito, na kailangan pa namin i-summon? Kasi again, mayroon po tayong sinusunod na due process,” she continued.</p><p>(Why are we doing this, and why do we still need to issue a summon? Because again, we are following due process.)</p><p>The PNP official said the CSG would assess the lapses and severity of the incident to determine possible sanctions, including the suspension of the security guard’s license and penalty for the agency. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DcyGUlBZluY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The Mandaluyong City Police said they have spoken to the vendor and confirmed that she is a student and not part of any criminal syndicate.</p>

The Mandaluyong City Police said they have spoken to the vendor and confirmed that she is a student and not part of any criminal syndicate.

Viral 'sampaguita girl’ not a minor, but a scholar medtech student: police

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Viral 'sampaguita girl’ not a minor, but a scholar medtech student: police

Michael Delizo,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 17, 2025 12:51 PM PHT

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Updated January 17, 2025 03:17 PM PHT

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