Family of viral ‘sampaguita girl’ not pressing charges vs security guard

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Judith, the sampaguita vendor's mother, says her daughters wore their high school uniforms despite studying in college to avoid being caught by authorities going after illegal vendors

MANILA, Philippines – The family of a young sampaguita vendor will not press charges against the security guard who forcibly removed her from SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City.

In interviews with ABS-CBN and GMA News, Judith, the young girl’s mother, said they were not inclined to press charges against the security guard because he may be poor like them.

The sampaguita vendor — whom the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) identified as Jeny — went viral on social media following a viral video of her altercation with a security guard of the Sy-owned mall.

Jeny recalled asking the guard for permission to sit by the mall’s stairs while she was waiting for her twin sister and a friend, who also sold sampaguita garlands. But the guard refused to let her sit and supposedly threatened to confiscate the garlands she was selling.

“Hindi na po ako nakapagpigil,” she recalled, “Siyempre po yung araw na yun, galit po ako talaga kasi naganun po ako. Feeling ko, ang baba ko, feeling ko, ayun nga, dahil nagtitinda lang ako, ginanun ako.”

(I couldn’t hold it in anymore. Of course, I was furious that day because of what happened to me. It made me feel like I was a lesser person that I was treated that way just because I was selling [garlands].)

The security guard in the viral video has since been dismissed.

Who is the ‘sampaguita girl’?

Jeny’s parents also clarified that she was 22 years old and not 18, contrary to the Mandaluyong City police’s statement.

Judith confirmed police statements that Judy was a medical technology student on a scholarship at a private school in Manila. She has two other siblings and a twin sister who is studying nursing.

Judy and her twin sister would sell the garlands to make extra money for their school needs. Their parents weaved the garlands that they sold.

Their parents said the family makes P500 to P1,000 a day. They set aside a portion of their sales to pay for the P36,000 tuition bill.

According to Judith, her daughters wore their high school uniforms despite studying in college as it helped generate more sales and to avoid being caught by authorities going after illegal vendors.

In a separate interview with ABS-CBN, Jeny said she wore her junior high school uniform on the day of the incident because she wanted to keep her current set of uniforms clean.

“I wear a uniform to look decent in public, and that’s not deceiving because I’m a real student anyway,” she said in Filipino.

While many netizens sympathized with Jeny, others suspected that she may be a member of a syndicate. The Mandaluyong City police have since denied these claims.

“Ang turo ko sa kanila, mag-aaral tayo mabuti. Lagpasin mo. Huwag mong gayahin yun sa paligid. Pero huwag tayo gumawa ng masama. Kasi hindi tayo tinuturuan ng masama. Ang gusto ko naman nang mangyari, mag-aaral tayo mag-aaral,” their father said.

(I taught them to study hard and finish their studies. Don’t be like the people around you. But don’t ever do anything illegal, because we were not taught to violate the law. All I want for them is to finish their studies.)

DSWD visit

The DSWD on Friday, January 17, visited Jeny’s home in Quezon City and gave rice and P20,000 in financial aid.

In a statement, DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said that the department’s social workers will further assess the family’s situation to identify any other possible remedies to their situation.

Dumlao also reiterated calls for the private and public sectors to protect others’ rights. “On the part of the DSWD, lagi po nating sinasabi na hindi po natin tino-tolerate ang gender-based violence. Dapat ay there is a collective effort on the part of the private and public sectors na protektahan at pangalagaan ang karapatan ang well-being ng bawat isa,” she said.

(On the part of the DSWD, we always say that we do not tolerate gender-based violence. There should be a collective effort on the part of the private and public sectors to protect and take care of everyone’s rights and well-being.) – Rappler.com