UP's Francis Lopez, CJ Cansino apologize for mask incident at carnival

Francis Lopez and CJ Cansino of the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons took to social media to air their apologies over a mask-grabbing incident at a carnival in Subic, Zambales.

In a vlog uploaded by Cansino on his YouTube channel last December 18, the Maroons were seen at a carnival in Subic, where they rode a horror train. One person on the train attempted to grab the mask worn by a member of the staff inside the venue.

The said act received negative feedback from social media users and a clip of it that was uploaded on X had around 3 million views.

In a post on X on Christmas Day, Cansino apologized for what happened.

"Una po sa lahat, humihingi ako ng dispensa sa tao behind the mask at sa mga nakapanood ng vlog. I take full responsibility for what happened," he wrote on his post.

Una po sa lahat, humihingi ako ng dispensa sa tao behind the mask at sa mga nakapanood ng vlog. I take full responsibility for what happened. (1/2) https://t.co/QJWNN8OYmZ

— Cj Cansino (@cjcansino) December 25, 2023

"Walang rason para manakit ng tao, at very sorry si Francis for what happened. Kasama si Francis, we have been trying to contact the person po so we can personally apologize for this."

[First of all, I would like to apologize to the person behind the mask and to the people who saw the video. I take full responsibility for what happened. There's never a reason to hurt people and Francis is very sorry for what happened. With Francis, we have been trying to contact the person so we can personally apologize for this.]

In a post on Facebook on Tuesday, Lopez echoed Cansino's statement.

"On a recent outing with my teammates to a carnival in Subic, I inadvertently hurt a carnival employee in one of the carnival rides. This thoughtless moment was recorded on video and was later posted on social media, and I take full responsibility for what happened," he wrote on his post.

"I together with CJ and the team have tried to reach out to the employee to apologize to him in person, but we have yet to track him down. We will continue to look for him because I want to talk to him and let him know that it was never my intention to hurt anyone."

Lopez said he will be more mindful of his actions as they also reflect on his family, team, and school.

"Thank you to the UP community for your support and for holding me accountable for my actions. On the court and off it, I promise to do my best not to let you down," he added.

The Fighting Maroons finished as runners-up in the UAAP Season 86 men's basketball tournament as they fell to De La Salle University in the best-of-three series.

—Justin Kenneth Carandang/JMB, GMA Integrated News