Viral food delivery rider receives over P45K from BTS fans

Filipino ARMYs raised over P45,000 for a food delivery rider who wowed them with his dedication and support for the BTS Meal.

Benjamin Baetiong went viral on social media this weekend after posting how happy he was to deliver the BTS meal to fans.

ARMYs were touched upon seeing his post, and one group decided to repay Kuya Benjamin by rallying fellow BTS fans to do what they do best: come together and be a force for good.

"I was so happy, I was shaking. Some people sent me a private message, letting me know that they are raising funds for me," he told GMA News in Filipino.

"Our urgent financial needs is for papa's medication, because he suffered a stroke."

Tea Squad, the group which started the fundraising drive for Kuya Benjamin, initially aimed to raise P7,000 but the amount was exceeded in just a few hours.

Incidentally, Kuya Benjamin's viral post came amid homophobic posts from other riders about the BTS meal and the K-Pop group.

According to Benjamin, he had no idea about the issue and his post was simply out of joy when he noticed that there were a lot of orders.

"I was so happy with how in-demand they were, I posted that my orders were mostly BTS Meals. I didn't think much of it. I was surprised when it went viral," he said.

"I only found out later on about the delivery rider issue. I was surprised. I didn't know until my fellow riders told me," he added.

Tea Squad said Kuya Benjamin's post was shared on their group chat so they immediately thought of giving something back to him.

The group said they are now more motivated to extend their help to people through future projects.

Benjamin, meanwhile, has become a newly-minted ARMY: "BTS ARMY, borahae!"

—Franchesca Viernes/MGP, GMA News