BY ALEXA BASA
Actor Ping Medina revealed that he lost his money amid the pandemic and is now publicly begging for cash donations in what he described as a “weird birthday post” on Instagram.
Ping revealed that he became a sabong agent, but unfortunately, his master agent and player did not pay him back.
“I tried being a sabong agent last month. My master agent asked me for money to keep our account going. I also had a player who would spend 10k a day so when she asked for an advance I thought she was good for it. They both haven’t paid me,” he wrote in the caption posted on Sunday.
In total, he is yet to receive P36,000 from his master agent and player, which could help him pay his business rent as well as amortized rent for his condo unit. “That’s my business’ rent money and two months amortized rent for my condo this coming Aug 1. I don’t know when they will pay.”
He said he was doing okay since the pandemic until he ran “a bad streak” this 2021 that also affected his food business.
“The second ECQ killed physical store sales at Bulilith Smoked Sausages. Customer traffic is starting to normalize but there were 3 months of people not wanting to go out. I needed another source of income,” Ping said.
“Unfortunately, sabong found me. I never gambled before in my life so I didn’t know the effect it has on people. Sadly, I’ve come to witness that it is truly an addiction preying on weak minds,” he added.
The actor said he does not want to borrow money, so he resorted to “begging” on his social media accounts. He also mentioned that he is ready to give up his life in Metro Manila if there is no other option.
“Thing is, I don’t want to borrow money. I’d rather lose everything then move to Sagada to plant crops. I’m totally ready to fulfill my life-long dream of being a meditating forest hermit,” he explained. “But if I’m gonna do that I want to be sure I’ve exhausted all possible means to keep up this lifestyle. I can let go of all this. Lifestyle is not important. Life is.”
He said the donation amount does not matter, even if it is only a small amount.
“For me. Doesn’t matter if it’s 1 or 1000 pesos. Please know that you extending a helping hand is the most important gesture here. Today, I am relying on your kindness,” he said.
He continued, “PS. If we’re both in need, you can greet me in the comments instead! I was planning to do a community pantry from my sabong earnings but alas. Lol. If ever there are excess donations I would gladly use it for that!”
Ping considered the Instagram post as a “weird birthday post.” He turned 38 years old on Friday, July 23.
He also shared QR codes of his bank accounts where the public could give their donations and a video telling others that he will be fine.
