MANILA, Philippines — Actress Claudine Barretto made a call for vigilance following the emergence of a viral social media trend to visit the grave of her late ex-boyfriend Rico Yan.
Numerous posts have popped up online of Filipinos flocking to Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque to take videos and photos of themselves by Rico's tomb.
Related Stories
While at first it began as a humorous trend, the abundance of posts and grave visits brought up discussions that visitors were no longer paying respects and instead just going for social media clout.
While Claudine has yet to directly address the trend, she did label as fake news on her Instagram account a social media post by someone claiming to be her that many individuals were simply clout chasers.
"Please respeto kay Yan. Tinalo niyo pa ako sa mga pa-time lapse niyo. Wag niyo ipilit ang pag-alala kay Yan, hindi niyo naman siya naabutan. Wag niyong gawing content ang puntod niya," the fake post read.
Meanwhile Rico's family have said they would not address the issue yet though they've spoken to tomb's caretaker and were told there are no current causes for concern.
"We welcome anyone from anywhere. We have visitors from abroad visit Rico's tomb and there are visitors weekly since 22 years ago," Rico's brother Bobby told ABS-CBN News, adding they will take action if neighboring mausoleums are being disturbed.
Rico is best known for starring in "Got to Believe," "Mula sa Puso," "Dahil Mahal na Mahal Kita," "Gimik," "Saan Ka Man Naroroon," "Kay Tagal Kang Hinihintay" and "Paano Ang Puso Ko?," many them alongside Claudine.
Rico was found dead in a Palawan hotel room while on vacation in 2002, his official cause of death being cardiac arrest due to acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis. He was 27 years old.
RELATED: Fans flock to Rico Yan's grave because of TikTok trend