Twitter users called out Justin Dizon, a housemate of “Pinoy Big Brother: Connect” for displaying what they perceived to be a “bullying” behavior when a clip of him wiping his hands on another housemate’s towel went viral.
In a live stream video by the program shared on Wednesday, the “Courageous Cabalen of Pampanga” approached Jie-Ann Armero, a 16-year-old from Sarangani Province, and told her that they were talking about her since she does not take a bath.
Armero in the video was seen with a towel wrapped around her head. She was about to do something when Dizon went to her and told her to stay put.
He then wiped his hands on her towel and then said with a laugh: “‘Di ba ginagawa mo ‘yan sa’kin?”
Armero returned his laugh and responded: “Hindi naman ano eh, tubig lang naman ‘yan eh.”
“Pinaglawayan ko,” Dizon replied.
Armero shrugged this off and said that she’s “used” to it.
But Dizon responded with the following: “Sabagay, marumi ka nga pala.”
A clip of the incident eventually made its way to Twitter, where Dizon’s name reached the top trending list on Tuesday morning as Filipinos talked about his behavior toward the teenager.
“Ang baho ng ugali,” a Twitter user wrote in reaction to Dizon’s behavior.
Content creator AC Soriano saw the clip and likewise expressed his disbelief at Dizon’s actions towards Armero.
“Poojah what is this behavior,” he wrote.
“JUSTIN DIZON is not the baklang kanal representation that we’re looking for, PBB. Telling someone, ‘Marumi ka nga pala,’ was extremely rude and unmannered,” another Twitter user said.
A YouTube vlogger shared a screengrab of Dizon wiping his hands on Armero’s towel with comments asking if Dizon was “bullying” the latter.
Dizon, prior to entering “Pinoy Big Brother,” was already well-known in local Twitter for his critical comments on socio-political issues and for advocating LGBTQ+ rights.
Story behind Jie-Ann’s shower habits
Meanwhile, other Twitter users brought up a clip of Armero being summoned by “Kuya” in the confession room, where she bared that water is scarce in their household.
“I hope talaga we listen and get to know people first before we say mean stuff,” a Filipino wrote in response to Dizon’s behavior towards Armero.
In the clip, Armero said to “Kuya” that there are times there would be no water in their house, hence the reason why she does not regularly take a bath.
“‘Yung tubig namin doon, isang container lang po, 12 pesos po. Ta’s ‘yung container namin tatlo lang, para lang po sa pagsasaing, paghuhugas, tsaka pang-inom po,” she said.
“Kaya minsan po hindi po ako nakakaligo kasi maliit lang po ‘yung mga container namin ta’s tinitipid pa po namin ‘yung tubig kas minsan naglalaba din kami,” Armero added.
The “Kwelang Fangirl of Sarangani” also said that there are times she and her siblings would share a basin so that everyone could take a bath despite the scarcity of water.
Following this, some Twitter users raised alarm over the reported lack of basic necessity in the province, which was previously represented by Sen. Manny Pacquiao in the lower chamber of the Congress.
“At bakit ganun pa rin ang kalgayan ng tubig sa Sarangani? Isang basic need na hindi naibibigay sa taumbayan? Senator Manny Pacquiao?!” Miss Trans Global 2020 Mela Franco Hajiban said.
“Other than the matapobre Justin Dizon (na alam na natin matagal na)… pwede focus tayo na wala silang tubig sa Sarangani??? T**gina ni Pacquiao, gusto tumakbo presidente pero basic needs ng mga kababayan, pinabayaan????” another Twitter user wrote.
It is to be noted that the boxing champion, who recently bagged the presidency of the ruling PDP-Laban party, has not yet confirmed if he is running as the country’s next chief executive in 2022.
“Ipinagdadasal pa ni Sen. MP ang mga plano niya para sa 2022. Sa ngayon, ang kaniyang priority eh kung paano makatulong sa ating mga kababayan, lalo na sa mga naging biktima ng bagyo,” his special assistant Jake Joson said earlier this month.