Marian Rivera making Ivana Alawi cry, Las Piñas kidnapping gone wrong, and other viral pranks

It’s April Fool’s Day, you fools.

The time has come for pranksters to wreak havoc on their clueless victims.

Mind, however, that there's a fine line between cracking April Fool's Day jokes and peddling disinformation and malicious posts. Neither should the day be used to book fake delivery orders and joke about others' insecurities, trauma, sexuality, pregnancy announcements, mental illness, death, cheating, or contracting serious illnesses.

It shouldn’t also be used to stage pranks that could threaten lives.

Here are some pranks in recent history that made the headlines and went viral on social media.

Davao De Oro gasoline drinking

In January 2023, vloggers Jonel Catipsayan Cordero and Arnold Obidencio Rabi faced alarm and scandal charges after the former pretended to drink gasoline.

They bought gasoline worth P10 and asked the gas station attendant to pour it into a water bottle.

Cordero then supposedly consumed it, acting like he got poisoned and even did a fake act of vomiting.

Employees called for help and when medical staff arrived, Cordero still reportedly pretended to be poisoned. He ultimately admitted to doing the prank for content.

Las Piñas kidnapping

In April 2023, YouTube channel Tukomi—run by Mark Lester San Rafael, Mark Hiroshi San Rafael, and Eleazar Stephen Fuentes—faced alarm and scandal charges after they posed as kidnappers.

They wore black bonnets and were supposedly about to take hostage an individual in the street.

It was all fun and games until a police officer saw them, stopped them, and filed a case against them. The officer even reportedly drew a gun to stop them, thinking it was a real kidnapping incident.

Happy birthday in ‘Japanese’

Last January, a Filipino waiter went viral on X for singing a “Japanese” version of the happy birthday song to a customer.

The lyrics, however, were “Mitsubishi Nissan,” two popular Japanese automotive brands.

am i tripping or did he actually sing me car brands… “Mitsubishi nissan” ??!?😂 pic.twitter.com/vKKN8VumBz

— coco✰ (@glorygirlcoco) January 7, 2024

“am i tripping or did he actually sing me car brands… ‘Mitsubishi nissan’ ??!?” user @glorygirlcoco said in the tweet, which has over 180,000 likes, 19,000 retweets, and 18.7 million views.

Many social media users had a field day in the replies, with some noting how it supposedly resembles the comedy film Scary Movie 4; a scene parodied the classic Japanese horror Ju-On, and the American character and the ghost were mentioning random Japanese words to imitate Japanese speech.

The waiter’s move, however, also raised discussions on racism.

Cebu 'white lady'

Last February, vloggers in Bogo City rendered a week-long community service after scaring motorists and passersby through a “white lady” costume.

A teenager wore a white shroud while flapping it, while two adults and two minors lit candles by the roadside as “elements of the dark.”

But unhappy residents reported them to the barangay, arguing that they did their prank in an accident-prone area and could literally scare to death victims.

Residents also noted that the prank could cause victims to retaliate.

Alex Gonzaga’s blind date set up for Carla Abellana

On Valentine's Day, Alex set up a blind date between her uncle Jojo and Carla.

Alex instructed Carla to turn down Jojo and make him feel bad.

But little did Carla know that Jojo was well aware of what Carla was about to do, and he planned to stir some drama for the impending “rejection.”

Carla repeatedly apologized to Jojo and said it was just a prank, but Jojo stayed in character, even walking out on Carla.

Jojo and Carla shared a hug and laughed together afterward for their respective “acting skills.”

Marian Rivera makes Ivana Alawi cry

In December 2023, Ivana guested Marian in her vlog, where they talked about their showbiz careers and life stories.

Things took a surprising turn when Marian supposedly showed annoyance over Ivana being late.

As Ivana was about to explain herself, Marian went on with “reprimanding” her, asking if she always gets late. Marian also “criticized” Ivana’s attitude and asked why she only served crab.

Ivana broke down in tears and asked her team to pack up, during which Marian hugged her and told her that it was just a prank orchestrated by Mona, Ivana’s younger sister.