LOOK: Filipino Influencer Makes A Kite Out Of Bills Worth $20,000, Prompts Investigation
Filipino YouTuber Ronnie Suan, aka "Boy Tapang," is in hot water after making a kite using Philippine peso bills.
Earlier this month, the content creator from Cebu, Philippines, made a kite out of PHP 1,000 bills, amounting to PHP 1 million (~$20,000), and uploaded the video on his Facebook page. It went viral and prompted an investigation by the Central Bank of the Philippines (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas/BSP) that led to the video's deletion.
The original video, which shows Boy Tapang and his friends making and flying the kite, is no longer available on Facebook.
However, it can still be viewed on the YouTube channel "Erika and BoyTapang Vlogs," which is also reportedly his.
Last Saturday, Suan uploaded an update and said that BSP officers visited him regarding the video. He shared that BSP's crime investigation group coordinated with him and gave him another chance after a discussion.
In the video, he also took the opportunity to apologize again for what he did.
"I just want to apologize to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for the kite that I made using bills. It was not my intention to play with money because I also grew up in poverty," he said in Filipino.
"I just made that content for entertainment purposes only because I thought if I made a normal kite from plastic, it would be too common. That's why I thought of making a kite out of money."
Aside from making a public apology, Suan reminded his viewers not to play with money.
"I just want to tell everyone that you should not play with money. Let us value it because it is important to us. Especially that BSP is serious in preserving the integrity of our money," he said.
He also requested those who reposted his kite video on different social media platforms to delete it if they didn't want to be investigated, too.
"To everyone who reposted my video, please delete it if you don't want to be investigated like me. Just delete that video so it would be clear to all that money should not be played with and used as a joke," he pleaded.
Under the Philippine law, Presidential Decree No. 247, titled "Preventing Defacement of Central Bank Currency," "prohibits and penalizes the defacement, mutilation, tearing, burning, or destruction of Philippine Central Bank notes and coins."
The purpose of this decree is to "preserve the integrity and lifespan of the currency to maintain the stability of the financial system and promote economic growth."
