Jamaine Punzalan

Article (news)

Anna Cerezo

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — After sleeping overnight at a mall in Makati to make the most of the money she had saved for more than three years, 25-year-old online seller Charmaine didn’t expect to be bashed online for buying a new phone. </p><p>“I try to be positive about the situation,” she said, reacting to a news outlet’s post that identified her as the first customer in line for the iPhone 17’s midnight launch, that was flooded with negative comments. </p><p>“It’s not like I buy a new phone every year. It depends on people—if they want to buy, hindi...that’s their choice. There will always be positive and negative comments.”</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:560px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;text-align:center"><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/4imZqadnGI8?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>She explained that it wasn’t about luxury or vanity but an investment to help her online business grow.</p><p>“Alam ko nangyaring calamities gaano kahirap ngayon. Pero hindi naman ako nag-splurge lang,&quot; she said. “Motivation ko is the nicer camera, video. Magagamit and ROI (return of investment) ko sa business.&quot;</p><p>“I think I did a strategic way of buying. Makita sa social media madami na talaga yung ibang store. Inisip ko san ako makapili, mas may chance manalo,” she said.</p><p>Despite the backlash, Charmaine said she did not regret the experience. </p><p>“There’s an event, there are people, there’s a community,” she said. “It was all worth it.”</p><p>Digimap’s iPhone 17 launch aimed to make the experience more personal for Filipino consumers, with live DJ sets, raffles, and exclusive partner offers.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/technology/2025/9/10/iphone-air-iphone-17-take-center-stage-in-apple-s-latest-lineup-0611">iPhone Air, iPhone 17 take &#x27;center stage&#x27; in Apple’s latest lineup</a></div><p>After facing online criticism, Charmaine chose to look on the bright side: she’s just happy that she finally has her long-awaited iPhone, and to top it off, it matches her bias, SEVENTEEN’s Mingyu.</p><p>“It wasn’t my main motivation to get the phone,” she said with a laugh. “But I saw his post, and I wanted the same color—same-same, matchy-matchy kami. I do feel better,” she added, showing her wallpaper featuring Mingyu holding the same orange iPhone.</p><p>Among the attendees were celebrities Barbie Imperial, Rica Peralejo, and Kelly Misa.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/technology/2025/9/10/apple-s-move-to-esim-only-strengthens-global-trend-1002">Apple&#x27;s move to eSIM-only strengthens global trend</a></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lA32yyDVeXE?si=1dnkuIazuRG1plGp" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" spellcheck="false"></iframe><br/></div>

<p>After sleeping overnight at a mall in Makati to make the most of the money she had saved for three years, 25-year-old online seller Charmaine didn’t expect to be bashed online for <i>buying a new phone. </i></p>

After sleeping overnight at a mall in Makati to make the most of the money she had saved for three years, 25-year-old online seller Charmaine didn’t expect to be bashed online for buying a new phone.

First in line to get iPhone 17 shrugs off online bashing

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First in line to get iPhone 17 shrugs off online bashing

Anna Cerezo,

ABS-CBN News

Published October 17, 2025 09:48 AM PHT

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Updated October 17, 2025 10:00 AM PHT

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iPhone 17

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