In recent days, K-pop merchandise has been a top-trending topic on social media in the Philippines.
On Sunday night, ‘Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho’, a weekly magazine program in the Philippines, aired a story about a girl with an alias ‘Bea’. The said subject is a K-pop fan, but unbeknownst to her family, she allegedly took money from her grandmother’s business to fund her collection of K-pop merchandise.
Apart from specifying the groups that ‘Bea’ supports, the program also mentioned on-air the prices of some items from her collection. This includes a 3-piece rare photo card set which allegedly amounts to Php 50,000 (roughly US$1000) per piece, and the ticket that she used to attend a recent concert in Manila, which costed her a little over Php 13,000 (more than US$235).
In total, the entire collection of ‘Bea’, according to her family, has reached Php 2.7 million (about US$50,000).
Since the airing of the said episode, there have been real-world incidents involving K-pop fans that are being linked to the controversial story. With most of the issues concerning the price reveal portion of the photo cards.
One of the many accounts of alleged thieving incidents stated that their photo card was snatched while heading to a train station in Quezon City. This, in particular, had reached the program staff, prompting ‘Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho’ to release a statement.
It reads as follows.
Nakarating sa aming kaalaman ang tungkol sa isang online post na nagsasabing may nahablutan ng K-Pop merchandise sa MRT-Cubao. Inuugnay ito ng ilan na diumano bunsod ng pag-ere ng KMJS sa kuwento ni “Bea” na nagnakaw ng milyon sa kanyang pamilya para suportahan ang kanyang KPop collection.
Nakipag-ugnayan kami sa MRT-Cubao at sa iba pang kalapit na police stations para i-verify ang insidente. Ayon sa pamunuan ng MRT-Cubao at police stations, walang anumang opisyal na naiulat sa kanila na nanakawan o
nahablutan ng K-Pop merchandise sa nakalipas na 48 oras. Gayumpaman,
hinihikayat nilang mag-report sa kanilang tanggapan ang mga nagpakilalang biktima, o sinumang may katulad na insidente para magawan ng aksyon.Nakikiusap ang pamilya ni “Bea” na tigilan na ang pang-aatake sa kanila online at pagbubunyag ng kanilang pagkakakilanlan. Lumapit sila sa KMJS para matulungang mabawi ang perang pinaghirapan nila.
Samantala, kinokondena naman ng pamunuan ng KMJS ang ginagawang trolling at harrassment ng ilang netizens sa aming staff na gumawa ng ulat tungkol kay “Bea”. Nakikipag-ugnayan na rin ang KMJS sa aming Legal Team para sa susunod na hakbang.
Tulad ng ibang mga kuwentong itinampok sa KMJS, ginawa namin ang istorya ni “Bea” hindi para manghusga, pero para magsilbing aral at babala. Walang intensyon ang programa na makasakit, makapahamak ng iba, o magkaroon ng pagkakahati-hati.
Statement of ‘Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho’ on the alleged thieving incidents and on the backlash over their report on Sunday.