IVANA Alawi celebrated reaching 50 million followers on Facebook by announcing another round of giveaways, days after drawing criticism over a separate smartphone raffle linked to an online gambling platform she endorses.
In a thank-you video posted over the weekend, Alawi expressed her gratitude to supporters and revealed that more prizes would be given away to mark the milestone.
“Happy 50 million. Meron tayong mga regalo para sa ating mga followers. Meron tayong mga iPhone na ipapamigay,” she said. “Hindi pa ’to bilang sa 100 na iPhone, wala akong binawas doon.”
The actress-vlogger added that winners would have the option of receiving either an iPhone 17 or P50,000 in cash.
“Alam ko hindi lahat ng tao kailangan ng iPhone, ‘yung iba kailangan ng pang tuition fee, pang kuryente, pang pagkain, kaya naman bibigyan natin sila either iPhone 17 or 50,000,” she said.
The video then featured clips of Alawi personally handing out prizes to people she met on the street.
The celebration comes as Alawi continues to face criticism over an earlier giveaway tied to an online gambling platform.
On July 15, the “Love Is Never Gone” actress announced a giveaway of 100 high-end smartphones in partnership with the platform, which she endorses.
In the video, she documented herself purchasing the phones for a total of P4,280,750 and thanked the platform for helping fund the giveaway.
To qualify, participants were instructed to follow the gambling platform’s Facebook page, with winners to be drawn from among its followers.
The promotion sparked mixed reactions online. While many users joined the raffle, others criticized the campaign for promoting gambling through a high-profile giveaway.
Despite the backlash, Alawi has not removed the original giveaway post. As of writing, the video has accumulated more than 273 million views, over 8 million reactions, and 7 million comments on Facebook. (Jessica Ann Evangelista © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
