MANILA, Philippines\u2014Aside from being the best medicine, Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cenda\u00f1a said that laughter can also be an important wake-up call following television host Vice<\/b>
\n\u2014Aside from being the best medicine, Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cenda\u00f1a said that laughter can also be an important wake-up call following television host Vice Ganda\u2019s \u2018jetski holiday\u2019 skit during the latter\u2019s concert.
In a statement on Monday, Cenda\u00f1a reacted to Vice Ganda\u2019s concert with Regine Velasquez last August 8, where the duo performed a skit\u2014a rendition of Jess Glynne\u2019s Hold My Hand song that has been featured in memes about a Jet2 Holiday advertisement.
But instead of mentioning Jet2 Holiday, Vice Ganda\u2019s version used \u201cjetski holiday\u201d\u2014about former President Rodrigo Duterte\u2019s 2016 campaign promise of sailing by jetski to the West Philippine Sea to stand against Chinese intrusion.
\u201cSpeaking truth to power is most potent when it makes people laugh. This means the message really got through. Laughter is not only the best medicine, it is also the best wake-up call,\u201d Cenda\u00f1a said.
\u201cAnd if ever you are declared persona non grata, that\u2019s okay. Because in our hearts, Meme, you are a wonderful person,\u201d he added.
There have been calls to declare Vice Ganda as a persona non grata or unwanted person in Davao City, bailiwick of Duterte and his family. The calls came as aside from mentioning \u201cjetski,\u201d Vice Ganda also poked fun at the former president\u2019s incarceration at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
\u201cNothing beats a jet ski holiday, right now from Manila to the West Philippine Sea via jet ski. Get unlimited water bombing from Chinese vessels and a free trip to The Hague by the ICC. Promo applies to DDS (diehard Duterte supporters) only. \u2018Pinklawans\u2019 and \u2018BBMs\u2019 are prohibited,\u201d Vice Ganda said.
While many netizens lauded Velasquez and Vice Ganda\u2019s skit due to its political relevance and the mention of the West Philippine Sea (WPS), there were also some who came to Duterte\u2019s defense.
\u201cLong live, Meme Vice! Thank you for making us laugh while opening our minds and standing firm on your beliefs,\u201d Cenda\u00f1a said.
During the 2016 presidential debates, Duterte was asked what he would do regarding China\u2019s continuous harassment of Filipino fisherfolk who are sailing within the Philippines\u2019 exclusive economic zone.
In response, Duterte said he will go to China to discuss the issue. But if talks fail, he said he \u201cwill ask the Navy\u201d to bring him \u201cto the nearest boundary over the Spratlys, go down, ride a jetski, bring a Filipino flag with me and go to the airport, and plant the flag there.\u201d
In May 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Duterte admitted that his promise was a \u201cpure campaign joke,\u201d calling those who believed him \u201cstupid.\u201d
\u201cThat was during election season. And then there was that joke, my bravado, which was purely political in nature, and if you believe it, I would say you are really stupid,\u201d he added.
In the same month, Duterte said that he did not make any promise about the WPS during the 2016 campaign season.
Duterte is now detained in The Hague, where the ICC is based.
Last March 11, after coming home from Hong Kong, the former president was stopped from leaving the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 as local authorities assisted the International Criminal Police Organization in enforcing the ICC\u2019s arrest order.
The arrest order was in relation to the crime against humanity of mass murder raps filed by relatives of drug war victims.
Under Duterte\u2019s term, over 6,250 individuals were killed in legitimate anti-drug operations, but rights groups said that the number can be anywhere between 12,000 to 30,000.
Groups also disputed that victims fought it out against the police officers, noting that it is the same narrative used against 17-year-old Kian delos Santos, who was killed by cops in August 2017.
Delos Santos was not the original target of the anti-drug operation in Caloocan City, yet he was still shot point-blank, with camera footage showing him pleading for his life. \/apl
\u2014With reports from Andrei Sabinay, INQUIRER.net trainee<\/p>\n