Francis Lopez on Subic carnival incident: No excuse for what we did

For Francis Lopez of the University of the Philippines, there is "no excuse" for what he did to an employee of a carnival that the Fighting Maroons visited in Subic.

In a vlog uploaded by Lopez's teammate CJ Cansino on his YouTube channel almost two weeks ago, the Maroons were seen at a carnival in Subic where they rode a horror train. One person on the train, later identified, as Lopez attempted to grab the mask worn by a member of the staff inside the venue.

The act received negative feedback from social media users and the said vlog is now unavailable on Cansino's channel.

“There is no excuse for what we did. We try to make something right out of this. This is a life lesson for me,” said Lopez as he and Cansino returned to the carnival to apologize and clear the air between the parties.

Lopez also gifted the carnival worker with a signed jersey and UP Fighting Maroons team shirt.

The carnival staff member, meanwhile, said he appreciated the players' gesture of reaching out to him.

“No hard feelings na po,” the staff member who wanted to remain anonymous said.

Present in the parties' meeting were Subic Fiesta Carnival owner Gloria Quiroz and SBMA Office of Deputy Administration for Corporate Affairs officer-in-charge Armie Llamas.

Quiroz, meanwhile, said the Maroons were welcoming to other guests during their visit to the carnival.

"Natuwa kami sa kanila kasi tumagal pa nga sila rito nun. Welcoming sila sa fans and sa staff namin. Ngayon, na-appreciate naming bumalik sila rito," she said.

[We were happy with them because they stayed here for a while back then. They were welcoming of fans and our staff. We also appreciate that they returned here now.]

Cansino and Lopez both previously apologized for the said incident on their social media pages.

—Justin Kenneth Carandang/JMB, GMA Integrated News