'Sampaguita girl' in viral video a med tech scholar

The young girl in a viral video, seen selling sampaguita or jasmine garlands outside a mall in Mandaluyong City before being confronted by a security guard, is an 18-year-old scholar who sells flowers to help support her family and sustain her studies, police said yesterday.

- - Mark Ernest Villeza, Jose Rodel Clapano

Col. Grace Madayag, Mandaluyong police chief, told The STAR that the girl is a first-year medical technology student at a private school and has been selling sampaguita and fruits on the streets to make ends meet.

"She and her twin sibling, a nursing student in the same school, rely on street vending to help cover their education expenses after their home was recently demolished," Madayag said in Filipino.

Despite receiving a lot of support from netizens, Madayag said the girl is reluctant to pursue legal action against the security guard who shooed her away, fearing this might get in the way of her schooling.

"She has classes from Mondays to Saturdays and worries that pursuing legal action may disrupt her education," Madayag said.

The girl's family, she added, also fears that highlighting the issue could put her scholarship at risk.