Baby River, the three-month-old daughter of the detained activist Reina Mae Nasino, recently died due to an acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Sympathy and grief flooded online for the mother of the departed baby.
Nasino was given a furlough to visit the wake and burial of her daughter for 3 hours, but she was heavily guarded with armed forces as they consider her as a high-profile detainee.
The grief of this bereaved mother was insensitively labeled as a ‘drama serye’ by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) spokesperson Celine Pialago.
“Masyado ninyong ginagawang pang drama serye sa hapon ang paghihinagpis niya. Tigilan [n’yo]!” she said in a Facebook post.
With this, netizens slammed Pialago for her inconsiderate and heartless comment against the grieving mother.
Actor Enchong Dee criticized Pialago for her statement. He asked the latter to try putting herself in the shoes of Nasino and assess whether she will still feel okay amidst the situation.
This person is Heartless and Unintelligent. Ilagay mo ang sarili mo sa kalagayan ng isang ina at mangyari to sayo.
Bilang isang tao… ok lang talaga sayo?? pic.twitter.com/KPLGPk4HuB
— Enchong Dee (@enchongdee777) October 18, 2020
“This person is Heartless and Unintelligent. Ilagay mo ang sarili mo sa kalagayan ng isang ina at mangyari to sayo. Bilang isang tao… ok lang talaga sayo??”
Talent manager Ogie Diaz urged Pialago to sympathize with Nasino considering that she is also a woman.
Ate, makidalamhati ka man lang bilang ikaw ay babae rin at magiging ina ka rin. Wag puro ganda lang. Maganda din sana kalooban mo sa kapwa mo babae. https://t.co/0bjfDpzHoN
— ogie diaz (@ogiediaz) October 18, 2020
“Ate, makidalamhati ka man lang bilang ikaw ay babae rin at magiging ina ka rin. Wag puro ganda lang. Maganda din sana kalooban mo sa kapwa mo babae.”
He also blamed the ‘drama serye’ like scenario on the policemen who heavily guarded Nasino during the furlough.
Ate, itanong mo sa mga pulis kumbakit kailangang isang batalyon sila laban sa isang inang nagdadalamhati. Bakit andami nila eh nakaposas naman yung nanay? So sino dapat mong sisihin kumbakit drama serye na ang dating? Saka ka pumasok sa eksena kung nag-cause yan ng trapik. pic.twitter.com/EYPHI9l5uy
— ogie diaz (@ogiediaz) October 18, 2020
“Ate, itanong mo sa mga pulis kumbakit kailangang isang batalyon sila laban sa isang inang nagdadalamhati. Bakit andami nila eh nakaposas naman yung nanay? So sino dapat mong sisihin kumbakit drama serye na ang dating? Saka ka pumasok sa eksena kung nag-cause yan ng trapik.”
Other netizens also expressed disappointment with Pialago’s statement.
https://twitter.com/jessaorteza/status/1318192181518028800?s=20
https://twitter.com/mjvennn/status/1318042033345327105?s=20
But you do know that Baby River was seperated from her mother too early and that Reina was imprisoned for being an activist, right? The drama was produced by you. THIS IS ALL ON YOU. https://t.co/5x0ykuWqz0
— ven (@dyornalis) October 19, 2020
as a human nasan yung ability mo to emphatize sa grief ng isang ina? your statement clearly shows that you are invalidating the love of a mother to her child who, may i add, died because the healthcare and the justice system here in the philippines is fucked up. https://t.co/g1fRJTPTzK
— connor. (@coneeezy) October 19, 2020
ohmygod celine youve got a poor upbringing, bad background, poor manners, bad behavior, and barbarous words. i swear,,,, ateneo made a big mistake in granting you a degree https://t.co/Wj7dZkSIEK
— iri$ (@spi11age) October 19, 2020
Pialago on Monday issued an apology for those people who were hurt because of her ‘insensitivity’ but refused to apologize for calling Nasino’s grief as a ‘drama serye’.
“Wala pong problema sa pag-aapologize. Number 1 po, ‘yung pag-aapologize lalo na po doon sa mga nanay din na nawalan, na ang tingin po nila I was too insensitive doon sa naging paghihinagpis nila noon, noong mga nakaraan, ‘yung mga histories po nila, ‘yun ho, ang bagay na ‘yun I would like to apologize lalo na po doon sa mga nakakarelate po sa sitwasyon po ni Ms. [Reina],” she said in an interview with ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.
“Doon naman po sa pamilya, kung mag-a-apologize po ako sa salita na ‘drama serye’ sa paghihinagpis niya bilang isang ina, I am sorry. But for who you (Nasino) are, kung sino ka, kung bakit ka maraming security, that I won’t apologize,” Pialago added.
