An aspiring youth leader in Biñan City, Laguna, drew flak for deploying rescue boats with tarpaulins bearing her name and photo on a flooded street.
Social media user Jon Salvic on Monday, August 31 posted a clip that featured rescue boats in a residential street inundated with floodwaters.
The boats had tarps with the following text: “LIBRENG SAKAY NG BANGKA PARA SA MGA ESTUDYANTE.”
It also contained her photo and name, “Ate Rica Mae Cerujano.”
It was referring to aspiring Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chair and Laguna Youth Patroller Rica Mae Cerujano of Barangay Dela Paz in Biñan City.
The boats were used to help students get to their schools despite the flood and to ferry residents who needed to go to work.
“SK Chairwoman Rica Mae Flores Cerujano na pasimuno ng trending balsa with her image, nagsalita na,” Salvic wrote on the X (formerly Twitter) platform.
He shared a screengrab of a Facebook Story posted by Cerujano, who claimed that most negative comments about her free boat rides were from “dump accounts.”
“Mga walang magawa sa buhay kaya ang daming time para mag-react at mag-comment ng nonsense tungkol sa isang tao. Nakakapagtaka nga, parang mas updated pa sila sa buhay ko kaysa sa sarili nilang buhay. Siguro sobrang daming free time para bantayan bawat galaw ko,” she wrote.
“‘Yung iba naman, dahil trend kaya nakiki-sawsaw na din, magsasabi na lang ng negative comments, hindi pa marunong mag-fact check. Ang hilig mag-comment ng nega, pero takot ilantad ang sariling mukha,” Cerujano added.
“Kung ganoon katapang magsalita, sana kasing tapang din gamitin ang tunay na account. I respect criticism, pero sana criticism na may sense at may paninindigan and not negativity for the sake of attention. Just saying,” she further said.
SK Chairwoman Rica Mae Flores Cerujano na pasimuno ng trending balsa with her image nagsalita na.
“I respect criticism, pero sana criticism na may sense at paninindigan and not negativity for the sake of attention”
Inatake ang mga pumuna sa kanya, pero walang sense of… pic.twitter.com/M73KhlBRHk
— Kuya Jon (@JonSalvic) August 30, 2026
“Inatake ang mga pumuna sa kanya, pero walang sense of accountability si neneng,” Salvic wrote on the X platform, reacting to her statement.
“A whole essay, yet no justification as to why her huge image is added in those boats, lmao,” another user commented.
“Di niya man lang ma-justify ‘yung ginawa niya kasi aware siyang epal siya,” wrote a different Pinoy.
“Luh, another trapo in the making, SK pa lang,” commented another user.
“Hindi pa ‘yan ganap na SK chair, ganyan na mag-serbisyo sa bayan. Paano na lang?” wrote a different Pinoy.
Anti-epal rule
Earlier this year, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) ordered the strict nationwide enforcement of its “Anti-Epal Policy,” directing local government units to immediately remove the names, images, and likenesses of public officials from all government-funded projects, programs, activities, and properties.
DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla stressed that government projects are paid for by the people and must never be used for personal promotion.
“Government programs are not personal billboards. These are funded by taxpayers and must reflect public service, not political credit grabbing,” the government agency said before.
“Public funds are for public service. Not for personal publicity,” it added.
