MANILA, Philippines — What started as an internet gaffe turned out to be a blessing in the end for Kim Chiu, as she was able to donate 1,500 food packages to families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as P300,000 for mass testing by selling her “Bawal Lumabas” merchandise.
“Thank you po sa lahat ng [sumuporta] sa #bawallumabasmerch we were able to give food package sa 1,500 families and 300 thousand pesos for mass testing donated to shop and share!” Chiu said in an Instagram post.
(Thank you so much to those who supported the “Bawal Lumabas Merch”, we were able to give food package, as well as P300,000 for mass testing donated to “Shop and Share!”)
The “Shop and Share” that Chiu was referring to is the fundraising project set up by Anne Curtis and Angel Locsin, which aims to help underprivileged Filipinos get tested for COVID-19.
The initiative was originally launched by Curtis and Locsin in 2009 to help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy.
Chiu also documented how she was able to raise funds with her merchandise through her vlog post uploaded on YouTube Monday.
“Sobrang laki ng tulong, as in nawindang kami talaga nung nalaman namin kung magkano yung ido-donate mo, kaya maraming salamat, marami kang matutulungan,” Curtis told Chiu about the latter’s donations, as seen in the vlog.
(This is really a big help for us, we were really surprised when we found out how much you all would be donating, that is why we want to thank you. Your donations will help a lot of people.)
Chiu previously faced online criticisms after she aired her thoughts on the shutdown of her mother station ABS-CBN as its legislative franchise expired.
“Sa classroom may batas, bawal lumabas, oh bawal lumabas. Pero ‘pag sinabi, ‘pag nag-comply ka na bawal na lumabas pero may ginawa ka sa pinagbabawal nila, inayos mo ‘yong law ng classroom niyo at sinumbit mo ulit ay pwede na pala ikaw lumabas,” Chiu previously raised, a statement that drew confusion from netizens which in turn brought about memes poking fun at the actress.
(In the classroom, there’s a law that you cannot go out. But if you complied that you cannot go out and you did something that was against their rules, you fixed the law of the classroom and you submitted that you can go out.)
However, she turned to be a good sport as Chiu turned her statement into a song, which became a hit.
The actress also got creative, as she sold shirts inspired by her “Bawal Lumabas” song, as she aimed to provide food packages to families affected by the pandemic.