(Screengrab of viral video)

MANILA, Philippines — The girl in a viral altercation with a mall security guard is a student and not a member of a criminal syndicate, the Mandaluyong City Police clarified.

The video circulating on social media showed the girl, who was wearing a school uniform, resting on the steps of a mall in Metro Manila when the security guard approached her, asked her to leave, and destroyed the sampaguita flowers she was selling in the process.

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“Ica-clarify natin na yung bata ay totoong estudyante. In fact, siya ay isang scholar ng isang private institution. Matalinong bata at nagsusumikap lamang na madagdagan yung mga pangangailangan nila sa kanilang eskwela,” Mandaluyong police chief Col. Mary Grace Madayag told reporters in an interviewon Friday.

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(We want to clarify that the girl is really a student. In fact, she is a scholar of a private institution. A bright girl who is just working hard.)

“Hindi totoo na sila ay isang miyembro ng sindikato na nagbebenta at namamalimos within the general areas of NCR (National Capital Region),” she added.

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(It’s not true that she is a member of a syndicate that is selling and begging for alms in Metro Manila.)

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The clarification came amid comments from social media users alleging the young girl in the viral video was only posing as a student.

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Madayag reported that, with personnel from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) and barangay officials, they visited the girl and their family on Thursday evening at their home in Barangay Holy Spirit.

The Mandaluyong police chief said the girl is an 18-year-old college student taking up medical technology at a school in Manila.

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When asked by reporters about why the girl was wearing a school uniform, the Madayag said the girl was wearing her  old high school uniform, which she also wears at home.

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“Pambahay niya yon, hindi naman niya laging yun ang suot. Nagkataon na on that day, yun ang suot niya dahil pambahay na nga niya yon,” Madayag said.

(That’s what she wears at home, that’s not what she always wears. It just so happened that on that day, that was what she was wearing because that’s what she wears at home.)

As for how she ended up in Mandaluyong, Madayag explained that the girl was only one bus ride away from Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (Edsa), adding: “Ang sabi niya, kaya siya dito nagtitinda kasi mas mabilis ang kanyang benta.”

(She said sales are better in the area.)

Further, the Mandaluyong police chief clarified that the video was taken on Dec. 17, 2024, without the girl knowing beforehand that she was being filmed.

“Initially, na-upload na yan, pero nakiusap sila na tanggalin, tapos in-upload ulit nung vlogger,” Madayag said.

(Initially, that was uploaded, but they pleaded to have it taken down, then it was uploaded again by the vlogger.)

According to Madayag, the girl’s parents were making a living as sliced fruit vendors and that their family home was recently demolished.

“Wala pa silang talagang plano kung magfi-file ba ng case against sa security guard at doon sa vlogger na nag-upload ng video na yun. Mayroon na siyang lawyer na prinovide ng Commission on Human Rights at siya ang mag-aassist kung ano yung gagawin ng pamilya,” Madayag said.

(They still haven’t planned whether or not to file a case against the security guard and the vlogger who uploaded the video. They have a lawyer provided by the Commission on Human Rights and they will be the one to assist the family.)

The Mandaluyong police chief said they already identified the vlogger.

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The Philippine National Police – Supervisory Office for Security and Investigation Agenciesau777, the unit regulating private security agencies, said on Thursday that it was looking into whether the mall guard had violated ethical standards in the incident.

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