It wasn’t me.
A former member of the Filipino dance group SexBomb Girls has taken to social media to deny that she was arrested in one of the police’s controversial anti-drug operations after multiple publications mistakenly used her photo in reports.
Sheena Flores de Castro used Instagram Story to set the record straight. She posted screenshots of reports that used her photo in a story about a woman, also named Sheena, who authorities had identified as a member of the SexBomb Girls, a dance group that was popular in the aughts.
Reports that mistakenly used her photos include ones from showbiz website PEP and respected newspaper The Philippine Star. It looks like PEP has taken down the said article but as of this article’s posting, The Philippine Star still has not changed the photo in its report.
“There are articles floating around about me getting arrested for illegal drugs in the Philippines and it’s not true,” de Castro said.
“And why do you have to use my photos from 8 years ago? Hope you at least used my latest one,” she joked in English and Filipino.
The photos were used in reports about a certain Sheena Joanna Roño Uypico, who was arrested during a buy-bust operation in San Pablo, Laguna yesterday.
Uypico was nabbed with two other suspects when they were allegedly found with PHP40,000 (US$784.21) worth of shabu (meth), PHP4,00 (US$78.42) in cash, PHP1,000 (US$19.62) marked money, a cellphone, and a car that was allegedly used to deliver illegal drugs. The suspects are now reportedly in police custody.
Authorities identified Uypico as a former SexBomb Girls member but the group’s management denied this in an interview with GMA News.
“We don’t know her and she’s not a member of the Sexbomb Dancers,” they said.
While Uypico and de Castro are two different people, The Philippine Star reported that they are one and the same.
In an interview with GMA News, de Castro said that she now lives in the United States and was shocked by the reports. According to her Instagram bio, she now works as a flight attendant. De Castro said that she plans to seek legal advice regarding the issue.
The SexBomb Girls is an all-female sing and dance group that was very popular in the early 2000s, when its members appeared as backup dancers in the GMA noontime variety show Eat Bulaga! They eventually came out with a number of studio albums and even starred in a soap opera. The SexBomb Girls still exists today but with new members.
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