Popular Bohol-based vlogger Tats has issued an official statement addressing allegations that she scammed participants in her iPhone installment payment scheme, locally known as “paluwagan.”
The controversy erupted after Angel Catingub, a resident of Cebu City, reached out to fellow content creator Xhu Chen Yen seeking help to expose what she described as a scam.
Catingub claimed she and other members of the scheme’s fourth batch had been paying P3,000 pesos monthly, with a total commitment of P30,000 pesos, but had not received their iPhones after four months of payments.
“We need your help po because g scam mi one of the known vlogger sa Tagbilaran Bohol City. Named Tats vlog,” Catingub wrote in her message, which circulated on social media.
“For almost 4months namu ga cgeh pay niya late nami nakahibalo nga wala jud d ay siya naga release ug unit.”
In response to the mounting criticism, Tats released a statement via her Facebook page, acknowledging her role in the controversy and apologizing to participants.
“In the light of the current issue of our iPhone Paluwagan, I sincerely apologize. Now, I would like to personally address this issue,” Tats said.
The vlogger explained that she started the installment scheme “in good faith with the hopes of small profit in between,” describing herself as a “middleman” in the arrangement.
She admitted the system collapsed due to delinquent payments from several members.
“Sa paluwagan, dili nani bag-o sa atoa and ako ra ang nahulog as middleman, which is dili gyud mulihok ang paluwagan if daghan ang dili mamayad. Personally aware gyud ko nga dako kog matapal pagsugod palang, but not to this extent kay ang uban members dili or wala gyud nibayad and wa pud nisabot ang uban,” she said.
Tats revealed she had been using personal funds to keep the scheme running but reached a breaking point when too many participants failed to make their payments.
“We, together with my family and close support system are currently formulating a plan para ma-solve ni nga issue with the utmost urgency, and the best way now is mag-meeting ko sa mga members by batch or by GC if ipadayon ang ilahang batch or e-stop and refund, which is sabotan pud nato ang timeline kay shempre mag-agad pud ko sa funds and sa mga incoming payments, and hopefully mo-sabot pud mo,” her statement read.
The vlogger also issued an ultimatum to delinquent members, giving them one week to settle their overdue payments.
“Furthermore, sa mga nibayad on-time, thank you kaayo! And to the members of the iPhone paluwagan nga wala na namayad or delinquent, please send your payments. Gaan tamo og 1 week, total dili mana ang full payment kundi mga delinquent months lang. Failure to pay after 1 week kay mag-post pud ko kay relax ra kaayo mo and ako ang gi-sige ug post sa mga wala pa na-releasan, and even branded as #scammer,” she warned.
Defending her reputation, Tats insisted she would not jeopardize her established name over the installment scheme issue.
“Kung huna-hunaon gyud dili pud nako hugawan akong na-build nga name para lang sa paluwagan. I am here and I’m not going anywhere. Naa tay GC’s and maka-storya pud personally, wala nay problema,” she concluded.
The statement ended with: “Salamat sa mga nisabot ug mga musabot. Sincerely, Tats.”
As of this writing, it remains unclear how many participants were affected by the delayed iPhone deliveries or how the refund process will be implemented.