Almira Cercado, the eldest member of the 4th Impact girl group, revealed they have already returned the donations they received in the fundraising for their Shih Tzu dogs after the initiative drew backlash.
The singer on Monday addressed the issue and called on the public to “stop the hate” amid the continuous backlash their group has been receiving following their intention to raise funds for their dogs’ farm before.
Almira said that while they have since stayed silent as advised by their family, friends and spiritual advisor, she has decided to speak up to “protect” her sisters from cyberbullying.
She said that they have received “hate comments” and “negative and false accusations” since the viral fundraising, which they have already discontinued after drawing flak.
According to Almira, she deleted the fundraising page on the GoFundMe website “days after the false accusations.”
“The funds are already refunded to our dreamers minutes after it was deleted,” she said in a Facebook post.
“This post is basically letting everyone know that we are closing this chapter and that we are NEVER irresponsible pet owners,” the singer added.
Almira vowed to “work harder” for their dogs so that they could have the farm the group had always wanted.
“It’s not gonna be easy, but I know we will get there! We are not famous and we are aware of that, but that doesn’t mean we have no right to try to reach for our goals and dreams. LET’S NOT USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO SPREAD HATE!” she exclaimed.
Last February, 4th Impact launched a GoFundMe page to build a “safe and expansive” farm for their 200 Shih Tzu dogs after receiving noise complaints from their neighbors.
The girl group had planned to raise US$10,000.
Their fundraising, while it touched some, failed to amuse others who called out the girl group for allowing their pets to reproduce at such a rate.
A veterinarian also stressed the importance of neutering or spaying pets to prevent raising the already-high stray animal population.
A non-profit animal organization likewise implied the girl group was “irresponsible pet owners” for failing to neuter or spay their four-legged companions.
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4th Impact is now an independent artist based in the United States.
They parted ways with ShowBT Philippines after feeling that nothing was happening with their career.
The group gained popularity in 2015 after competing in the British singing contest “The X Factor.”