Why is this woman getting blocked online by her suitors?

A 23-year-old woman from Zamboanga del Norte keeps getting blocked by her suitors on social media. What might be the reason behind this?

Noralyn Sumiyaya's eyes look round, her nose and mouth are small, and her body hair is thick.

In "Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho," Noralyn shared that she feels beautiful and confident when she wears makeup. But without it, she endures bullying from other people who would call her names.

"Sinasabihan po nila ako na mukhang unggoy daw," she said. "Hindi ko po matatanggap na pinagtatawanan ako ng mga tao."

("They tell me that I look like a monkey. It hurts when people make fun of me.")

Noralyn said she learned how to put on makeup thanks to tutorial videos on YouTube. When she got the hang of it and posted photos of herself online, men began to court her on Facebook.

But her first boyfriend ghosted her shortly after they met face to face. The same pattern kept happening until she had five boyfriends.

Noralyn eventually mustered the courage to post photos of her face with no makeup and no filter, but she received mean comments and insults.

"Mahirap po na pinagtatawanan ako ng mga tao kasi masakit po para sa akin," she said.

("It really hurts when people make fun of me.")

Noralyn is not the only one in her family to be in this situation. Three of her siblings, Jerry, Charito, and Cristella, also have the same condition affecting their looks.

Due to this, the siblings attended school only until Grade 6 and did not socialize with others.

"Ang mga kapatid ko lang ang kakampi ko. Dahil kung magkakaibigan ako ng iba kanila lang din akong lalaitin," Cristella said.

("My siblings are the only ones I really talk to. Other people would just insult me.")

According to their father, the siblings looked normal when they were born but they started changing when they were around 10 years old.

He thinks he may have made a mistake when he did a ritual of their Subanen tribe in offering to their Sigbin, causing the siblings to develop a skin condition.

Jerry, in particular, has wounds in his darkening skin. He stays in bed because it's difficult for him to move around.

The Rural Health Unit visited the siblings to check on their condition. Jerry's wounds were cleaned and a slit-skin smear was performed to collect tissue juices and run tests.

So far no leprosy-causing bacteria was found, but the siblings were referred to a dermatologist to determine the exact cause of their condition.

The KMJS team accompanied the siblings to a dermatologist that was an hour away from their home in Manukan. A needle test was performed by the doctor, but the results seem to be normal.

"Parang meron silang genetic abnormality or syndrome kasi it's a combination of different skin features," said Dr. Grichelle Guillano. "It's a difficult case kaya kailangan talaga nating malaman kung ano yung genetic abnormality niya."

("It seems that they have a genetic abnormality or syndrome because it's a combination of different skin features. It's a difficult case so we have to know which genetic abnormality it is.")

The Municipal Social Welfare and Development sent some aid to the Sumiyaya family. It will also help the siblings return to school.

The Commission on Human Rights also reminded everyone to stop bullying others and discriminating people based on their appearance.

Meanwhile, on that day, Noralyn's boyfriend, Cain, surprised her.

Cain set an example by loving and accepting Noralyn for who she is, not just for her looks.

—MGP, GMA News