CONFRONTATION In a video, which has gone viral online since posted on social media on June 14, vlogger Rendon Labador is seen berating Coron municipal government employee Jho Cayabyab Trinidad at the town hall while fellow social media personality Rosemarie “Rosmar” Tan Pamulaklakin complains against Trinidad. —screengrab from Rendon Labador Tiktok post
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, PALAWAN, Philippines — Amid an uproar among residents over a video of two social media personalities berating a municipal employee of Coron that went viral, the two found themselves unwelcome anywhere in the province of Palawan.
The Provincial Board on Tuesday passed a resolution declaring vloggers or social media influencers Rosemarie Tan Pamulaklakin, more popularly known as “Rosmar,” and Rendon Labador as persona non grata ahead of a similar move from the municipal council of Coron.
The passage of the resolution was preceded by a privilege speech of Provincial Board Member Juan Antonio Alvarez, condemning the two for their rude behavior toward municipal employee Jho Cayabyab Trinidad.
Alvarez was referring to an incident on June 15 at the town hall, which was recorded on video, where Labador was seen berating Trinidad after a post made by the town worker criticized the outreach program that the “Team Malakas” of Rosmar and Labador staged in the town.
Rosmar was also in the video crying and loudly complaining about the employee. The video was posted by Labador himself on his own social media accounts.
“Extending assistance does not give them the right to berate, be rude to and disrespect the institution of Coron,” noting that Trinidad’s post on her Facebook account criticizing the outreach activity was done in her personal activity and not as an employee of the municipal government.
“It was (Trinidad’s) personal opinion so their reaction, that included storming the municipal hall and berating a government employee, [was] enough for us to decide and declare them as persona non grata,” Alvarez said.
Expression of sentiment
Alvarez stressed that the declaration was only an expression of sentiment, which meant that while the influencers are no longer welcome in Palawan, there is no law prohibiting them from coming to the province.
“But the fact that they are not welcome here, they should be ashamed from coming back,” he said.
Trinidad alleged in her now-deleted post that Team Malakas only used the people of the town for social media content to boost engagement with the event staged on Friday morning, where the influencers handed out money and groceries, noting that hundreds of people waited in long lines without food or drinks amid the intense heat.
She also said that the group used the staff of the municipal government without proper remuneration.
Provincial Board Member Roseller Pineda said that it is about time that a national regulating body is created to lay down rules and ethical standards for social media content creators to avoid similar incidents from happening.
Vlogging, he noted, is no longer just a form of expression for content creators but has also become a livelihood that needs to have regulating standards.
‘Never again, Coron’
Rosmar, reacting to Trinidad’s criticism, posted on social media a comment with the caption “Never again, Coron,” saying she will never go back to the town. Her post, however, drew the ire of the residents of Palawan, who accused Team Malakas of using the people of Coron for “poverty porn” and “content purposes only.”
On Monday night, the social media influencers and Team Malakas posted an apology to Trinidad and Coron on the video-sharing platform TikTok, adding they would understand and accept any action against them by the local government, including a persona non grata declaration.
Rosmar, 28, is an entrepreneur who owns the skin, beauty, and cosmetics brand Rosmar International. She is mostly known through her TikTok page where she has amassed over 20 million followers.
Meanwhile, Labador, 38, is a fitness instructor who gained a major following on his Instagram account, where he posts photos of his body and workout routines for his over 100,000 followers.