An association of restaurants in the Philippines yesterday called out two vloggers for filming a TikTok video that allegedly showed them stealing condiments from a diner.
RestoPH said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned and saddened” by the video uploaded by Chuck Aquino and Joe Abad, who call themselves Chuck and Joe. The now-deleted video shows the duo asking the staff of a Japanese restaurant for additional servings of Togarashi powder, “which they filled up jars with, hid in a bag, and surreptitiously brought out.”
There was an “intention to deceive” on the part of the influencers, the association said, and what they had done was “a form of theft.”
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“[O]nce promoted on social media, theft no longer becomes petty,” RestoPH said.
“The restrictions of the quarantine have already caused many restaurants to close, and many more are struggling to survive. Malicious videos set a negative example and will have an adverse effect on the thousands of people who rely on the F&B industry for their security,” the organization added.
The lockdown restrictions imposed by the Philippine government had shuttered thousands of restaurants in the country. Numerous scientific studies have found that a person is highly likely to become infected with COVID-19 if he ate in a packed diner, leading Filipinos to shy away from eating outside their homes. As a consequence, many businesses have had to rely on deliveries, which proved detrimental to their operations.
Meanwhile, Chuck and Joe had apologized for the incident in a video posted several days ago, but they rejected the accusation that they stole from the restaurant.
“Actually it’s not considered theft because we did not bring home anything that was not given to us,” they said in English and Filipino.
Yeegamode says
They should be charged with theft as the video clearly shows their intent.
I’m not surprised considering their lifestyle.