Okay let us make a recall. First it was Malou Fernandez (who again?), remember? the stout chubby delusional lifestyle guru who thinks she’s the sexiest of all plus size socialites who happen to be the cockroach among OFWs, dissing them with a demeaning remark about how filthy it is to be with them in an economy class. The first Filipina ever to be protested, hated, vandalized and scorned on the internet. Remember na?

Okay then there was this virtually unknown Tracy Isabel Borres who made her 15 minute fame by saying preposterous and immature remarks about her experience with the aetas during her school’s immersion, even proudly posting them on Facebook in private, as if everyone shares her thoughtless sentiments. The not-so poor girl who was the second beneficiary of what we call the Internet Mob Rage.

Then there was this gay-guy cum fashion designer named Boyet Fajardo who was caught on CCTV camera, doing a Celia Rodriguez – Nora Aunor scene iwith a Duty Free casual employee, demanding that the poor salesman kiss his dirty feet in exchange for not bitch-slapping him. And this was done on broad daylight in front of everyone. Remember?

Now comes a fourth Pinoy Cysbespace prima-diva in the making, obtaining her notoriety through her witless reaction against the victims of Typhoon Ondoy.

I have come to know about this issue when friends kept on mentioning her on their facebook status and Tina Panganiban-Perez of GMA7 made a brief note on her facebook about this Pinay who made a very insensitive remark (was it really her who made that remark?)

She picked up the story from Ding Gagelonia who vowed to get the woman’s side of the story no matter what. According to Tina and Ding, the name of this latest “hated” personality in the cyberspace is “Jacque Bermejo“.

The issue here is not even the remark itself because as I have said in my other posts, everyone is entitled to their opinion no matter how stupid they may seem to be.

The issue that I see here is also the same issue that Ding is rasing on his blog: “Did she or did she not?”

Okay so what was the fuss all about?

Allegedly, this formerly unknown Jacque Bermejo an OFW from Dubai posted a very insensitive comment on her facebook account:

“buti na lang am hir in dubai. Maybe so many sinners bak der, so yeah, deserving wat hapnd”

As usual and as expected, Pinoys who got offended by the remark staged an online protest against this woman. They raided her multiply accounts with nasty comments and even made a Facebook account dedicated entirely for her desecration.

But according to Ding, despite the uproar, Bermejo remains mum on the issue and her friends say that her social network accounts has been hacked. Ding also pointed out serious and logical questions regarding the veracity of the said accounts which made, in behalf of Bermejo, the insensitive comment.:

• Her ‘fake’ multiply account uses the term starfish as “walang utak“
• Content of fake multiply albums “pictures with ugly officemates” no one would make an album with that content
• An FB account that made a statement on Definitely Filipno has the vanity URL of starfishbuang
• It is easy to make “trolled accounts.”

and recently, an unnamed brother of Jacque Bermejo came to her rescue. I posted the statement verbatim from Ding’s blog:

ok! it all started sa Friendster last year 2008, my sister told me that her account was hacked by someone mad at her prolly inggit or may galit… she really doesn’t know or what’s the reason why she has been hacked, of corse she’s pissed off because this person keeps messing up her friendster profile. So, hinayaan lang ng sister ko yun, since wala nmn xang alam sa social networking or kung ano man, she’s a working woman na at wala xang panahon magfriendster.

Ngayon naman this issue has been spreading about her posting such harsh words:
“buti n lg am hir in dubai maybe so many sinners bak der!so year deerving wat happend!”

Ang ate ko hindi ganyan kung magenglish, edukada sister ko at nag graduate sa UP. We came from a PROVINCE and part of a political family. Hindi basta basta si ate jack magpopost na magsisira sa family name namin. Dumaan din kami sa hirap, at for your information binagyo din ang lugar namin, TATLONG BESES. Why in the world will my ate as a filipino disgrace our family and citizen, sana po wag muna kayo manghusga.

Hintayin lang po sana ung explaination, for she doesn’t have internet nor load right now, its around 3am-4am at dubai, and I have hard times contacting her myself.

Make sense really.

MY TAKE:

I have been electrified many times by these so called uproar against people on the net. Only to find out that we, users of the same medium, have no access to what really happened or to the extent of the identities of this people. Suffice it to say, in a theatrics such as this one, we are merely spectators and audiences. We are not the actors nor the directors. So how can we fully judge others on the basis of a social netowrk wherein we al know that it can always be hacked?

Though we are very passionate people, but as I always say, let us not be too hasty in judging others. Mabuti sana if we really know the real score of the matter, but the irony is, we dont. So crucifying one person doesnt make the wrong act a right one. Hatred and verbal assault can never correct what has been wrongly done. It should always be peace. Though I believe there should be Justice, but as long as truth still evades the issue, let us maintain peace. Let us not be too harsh because for all we know, the culprit may have been the victim all along.

I am not defending Ms. Bermejo. I’m just stating a fact that her case is entirely different from the first three cases I mentioned above.

In Malou Fernandez case, her remarks were published by the magazine she is working for at that time. So its obvious that her remarks are really from her.

In the case of Isabel Borres, her facebook note was screen capped and spread over the internet by a friend in her circle. She later confessed about her comments she made on a certain blog and decided to keep mum until the issue dies down.

And lastly, the case of Fajardo was verified by a CCTV security camera of Duty Free Philippines, caught in the act. Now that is very hard to deny. Even at the absence of sound, one need not be a genius to notice that Fajardo is doing a bitch-power tripping with one of the salesmen of the store.

But in Jacque’s case, how are we so sure that the account is really hers and not hacked as claimed earlier by her friends?

If indeed that the questions raised by Ding can be vilified by truth, then we have a serious case of computer crime here. Not against Jacque but against the hacker and the poser. Let me just reiterate my point by this special case in Imbestigador wherein Friendster Hackers was caught by the NBI:

Point is, while it is seemingly patriotic and moral to lambaste and correct Ms. Bermejo’s “alleged” insensitive remark, isnt it only just right that instead of us focusing on one person we should rather turn our heads towards the hundreds of victims of the flood as the number of missing persons climbs off the charts? Isn’t it more patriotic to help those who are in need instaed of wasting our energy in making conta-Facebook accounts against her? Of course angry mobsters won’t agree with me. But let us just pretend, at least at this very moment when our kababayans need our help the most, that we are mature Filipinos who will focus more on the real issue and not on the trivial ones…

Special Thanks To Ms. Tina Panganiban-Perez for the screencap