By Joyce Remo
IN a typical Filipino household, children are obliged to give back to their parents as soon as they start earning.
Recently, a viral post of John “H2WO” Salonga, a professional Filipino Esports player and Youtuber, challenged this culture.
The 20-year old ESports player Salonga is famous among gaming aficionados. He is considered a pro in the popular Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, competing internationally under Nexplay EVOS team. E-Sports players’ income vary, from P50,000 to as much as P1 million a month.
How it started
The mother of Salonga, Susana Miranda, went live on TikTok and exposed individuals whom she felt brainwashed her son.
She said H2WO, who is in Manila for a bootcamp, was being brainwashed by those around him.
“Yung nagbe-brainwash, pilit kaming pinag-aaway, pilit kaming pinaghihiwalay na mag-ina. Ngayon, hindi ka na magbebrainwash!” Miranda said.
H2WO’s mother also added that she doesn’t need the money her son was providing.
“Lamunin mo lahat ng makukuha mo kay H2WO. Ako, hindi ko kailangan. Hindi ko naman madadala sa hukay yan,” she said.
At the end of the clip, Miranda said “someone” – and not her – was “manipulating” and defrauding her son’s money.
The now-deleted Tiktok live video was deleted, however netizens were able to record and repost it. This Tiktok video went viral.
H2WO retaliates
Salonga said as much as it pains him to out his mother, he decided to share his online conversations with his mother.
“Ito pinaka masakit na pwede ko gawin sa buong buhay ko, ang ilabas yung kwento ng family ko sa public,” he said in his Facebook post. “Kailangan ko gawin kasi ang dami ng taong nadadamay, mga taong mahal ko at ni rerespeto ko na hindi naman dapat nadadamay.”
Based on the screenshots of his conversations with his mother, it appears that Susana has been begging, coercing, and some say, “gaslighting” her son for not wiring the money at the time she allegedly needed them most.
Salonga said his mother has been asking for financial support beyond the monthly allowance of P25,000 that he has been regularly sending.
Requests for money vary, ranging from P50,000 to P120,000. In her texts, she said, those are unprogrammed for construction of the house, groceries and bail out her pawned cellphone.
Salonga said he would send money but needed receipts of her expenses so that he could manage his money as he has other financial obligations as well.
Miranda threatened her son that he would never see her again as she would either go to the mountains or end her life.
Apparently, the mom refused to send the receipts of her expenses. This didn’t sit well with Salonga.
“Ayaw na kita muna bigyan ng pera kasi hindi ko alam saan mo dinadala. Ipag go-grocery na lang kita ng pagkain. Ganoon na lang,” Salonga texted.
This sparked the mother-son feud. Miranda went live on Tiktok.
The mother-son feud triggered netizens who either condoned Salonga for hurting her mom, while others empathized with him for standing for his future self.
