A tale of two viral Manila Bay white sand beach photos: Rice cookers and bikinis

The #ManilaBayChallenge took off this past weekend when droves of Filipinos went for a visit to the now-viral Manila Bay white sand beach.

The challenge involved doing a collage of your photo—preferably a beach photo—with this photo from Inoue Jaena of Rappler. The one with the foot bridge packed full of visitors, to be exact.

LOOK: People crowd the newly rehabilitated portion of Manila Bay covered by artificial white sand on International Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday, September 19.

Photos by Inoue Jaena/Rappler pic.twitter.com/Dh4F30zcfz

— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) September 19, 2020

While celebrities and netizens took to social media to both criticize and support the measure, two netizens seem to have taken advantage of the situation after their posts went viral: Jeremy Gulmatico and Renalin Macato.

These two netizens took the opportunity of going viral on Facebook to set-up their YouTube channels and become content creators during the pandemic. They, however, have two very different stories.

Manila Bay Boy in Rice Cooker scandal

Jeremy Gulmatico, according to his Facebook profile, is a former call center agent and “supervisor” at a restaurant in Brunei.

He got the moniker “Manila Bay Boy” for posting photos of him joining the “opening” of Manila Bay beach—without wearing a face mask.

A set of photos that are now private show Gulmatico “enjoying” his visit in Manila Bay—from crouching down and feeling the white dolomite sand to posing for a photo with a small crowd of people at the footbridge seen in a viral photo.

That footbridge photo has brought him the most attention, as he is seen without a face mask, though other photos of him from the now-private set show him wearing a surgical mask.

He proudly declared himself as a supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte, using the hashtags #prouddabawenyo and #dutertelegacy in his viral post. He has also been called out for being a braggart because of the sudden influx of friend requests and message requests he received.

He has even started a YouTube channel he has dubbed “Bobo Vlogs”.

Gulmatico’s notoriety, however, does not end there.

He has recently been involved in a scandal of sorts, with one netizen claiming he “stole a rice cooker” from his landlady while he was in Dubai.

Details on this story are scarce, but Gulmatico appears to have answered these allegations—only to limit the viewing of his answers to his friends’ list once more.

Madam Lenlen

Time for a light-hearted take on what Manila Mayor Isko Moreno likes to call the Manila Bay Sands.

Allow us to introduce Renalyn Macato, also known as Madam Lenlen.

This 46-year-old lady loves wearing swimsuits and is fond of sharing photos of her in various styles on her social media accounts.

This set takes the cake, though, as it was done not on the shores of a classic popular beach destination like Boracay or Palawan—but on the shores of Manila Bay.

In an interview with government-run PTV4, she explained how she managed to get what appears to be the only set of swimsuit photos ever taken on Manila Bay beach.

According to Macato, the idea came from her boss and close friend, who was also her photographer for her impromptu photoshoot. She added that it was all done in good fun and that they had asked permission from the organizer of the opening beforehand if it was okay to wear a bikini on Manila Bay beach.

They also made sure they practiced social distancing—something that was evident in her photos.

We are unsure if Madam Lenlen received an enormous amount of friend requests, followers, and message requests, but we are certain she is looking to take advantage of her newfound fame.

She now has her own Facebook page and YouTube channel.